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In Memoriam - Louis Bittrich

Dr. Louis Edward Bittrich, beloved father, husband, brother, and son passed away on Saturday night, January 20th, 2025 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at the age of 87.

He was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1937, but he spent his childhood in Rapid City, South Dakota, growing up a little faster than usual, helping his single mom and younger twin sisters make do on his mother’s modest teacher’s salary. Most of his career was spent as an English and Theater professor at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas.

His sweet wife, Nancy (Williams) Bittrich (of Seguin, Texas), passed away six years earlier after a 10-year battle with cancer, and he was even more heart-broken when his 54-year-old daughter, Annelise Bittrich, was taken away by Covid in March, 2021, just weeks before the vaccine was widely available.

Louis is survived by his sisters, Gretchen Estergren (Escondido, CA) and Marietta Johns (San Antonio, TX), his son, Stephen Bittrich (Los Angeles, CA), his son-in-law, Josh Earwood (Murfreesboro, TN), and Josh’s (and Annelise’s) three children, Parker Earwood, Jessie Earwood, and Kai Earwood.

Dr. Bittrich received several degrees of higher learning, including a B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter, Minnesota in French and English, and he earned his M.A. from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He took a position at Texas Lutheran College, as he prepared for further studies, and there he met his future wife, Nancy Fay Williams, who was a student at Texas Lutheran and two years his junior.

Their son, Stephen was born in 1962 while Louis taught briefly at Gustavus Adolphus, and their daughter, Annelise, was born 4 years later in the same city, St. Peter. Dr. Bittrich earned his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

He soon settled in back in Seguin at Texas Lutheran where he spent the rest of his career teaching English, Literature, Film, and shepherding student groups in European travel during the “Interim” semesters every January. He later obtained another degree, an M.A. in theater from Southwest Texas State in San Marcos and added various drama courses into his schedule.

Early in his career, he had a reputation as a rather stern, demanding teacher (the kind who actually made you think), but he had no shortage of students who adored him.

In the community he was one of the leaders of One Seguin Art Center, and his particular talent in that organization was directing theater. Over the years in the community and at the college, he directed such plays and musicals as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oliver!, The Sound of Music, Hello, Dolly!, Kiss Me Kate, Cinderella, My Fair Lady, Man and Superman, The Misanthrope, Measure for Measure, Crazy for You and A Little Night Music, just to name some.

During the last year of his life, he suffered a degree of worsening dementia, which must have been quite frustrating for him as his sharp brain was always his superpower. In the end he was, as he said, “Ready to go see my girls” (his wife and his daughter).