Walter Moritz
Obituaries
Vail Daily Trail page 4 - December 16, 1999
Walter Moritz died Tuesday afternoon at the Vail Valley Medical Center of melanoma, a little more than a year after retiring as a chef and selling the popular La Tour Restaurant he owned with his wife Marie Claire. He was 63.
"I lost my hero," said his son Misha, who moved back to Vail two weeks after his father was diagnosed with cancer last August. "He's the one guy I always looked up to. My father's always been my role model and personal hero."
Walter died so peacefully, said his wife Marie Claire. Unfortunately he lost the battle, but he was so happy to be here in Vail. "He knew it was the right place and the right time."
After retiring, Walter and Marie Claire traveled from coast to coast and to Europe visiting family and friends. And while their sons were young, Marie Claire explained, the family spent weeks of quality time together each spring and fall.
"We did so much together as a family, that after retiring Walter just wanted to enjoy the simple things about Vail life, like enjoying the grandkids, taking a hike, visiting friends or sitting by the fireplace with a good book.
"There was no big, unfulfilled dream," Marie Claire added. "He left knowing everyone was in good hands."
After 31 years as a Vail restaurateur, Walter's culinary skills were well known locally and throughout the United States and the world.
"After all these years in the restaurant business, I never found anyone like Walter," said Joe Staufer, who was Walter's first employer at the Lord Gore Club when the Moritz' moved to Vail in 1967.
"I was so lucky to have him work for me, and he certainly raised Vail's culinary standards. I hated to lose Walter when he acquired his own restaurant. He was a fantastic guy, and such a hard-working man.
"Walter was one of the most ethical people I've ever met, an exceptional person," Staufer added. "I was honored to have him as a friend."
As a close friend and fellow Austrian in the same business, Sheika Gramshammer said Walter was always there for them. He willingly pitched to help them when they unexpectedly lost a chef." Pepi and I have lost a great friend," Sheika Gramshammer said. "And we'll miss him terribly."
Paul Johnston, another close friend, said Walter was an incredible example of perseverance, dedication and total commitment. "Walter's own businesses enhanced the quality of Vail and the Vail experience," Johnston added.
Born Feb 5, 1937 in Gratz, Austria, Walter met Marie Claire while both were working at the Dudley Hotel in Brighton, England.
A chance to work at the Drake Hotel in Chicago brought the couple to the United States. They were married in Chicago in 1964 and celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary last May.
As a chef at the Congress in Chicago and the Seven Continents at O'hare, Walter worked with Pepi Langegger, Hermann Staufer, Claus Fricke and Hans Schubert, who all ended up discovering Vail's lifestyle.
Walter and Marie Claire moved into the fledgling Vail resort in 1967 as some of its first settlers. That same winter, Walter and Marie Claire opened their first restaurant, the St. Moritz, in what was then the Wedel Inn. Walter's restaurant career ended with the sale of the La Tour Restaurant in September, 1998.
In addition to his wife Marie Claire, Walter Moritz is survived by his mother Ida Moritz of Gratz, Austria; sons Sasha Moritz and his wife Amy and their daughter Eloise Marie of Connecticut; Jean Claude Moritz, his wife Ellen, and their son Sebastian of Edwards; Misha Moritz of Vail; a sister Erika Schwarzbauer and her husband Karl of Gratz, Austria; a brother Reinhold and his wife Melitta Moritz of Gratz, Austria; a niece Angelika Moritz, and nephew Arno Zofosnik, both of Gratz, Austria. He was predeceased by his father Reinhold Moritz and a brother Herbert Moritz.
A memorial service is being planned for family and friends. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to Vail Valley Home Health Care and Mountain Hospice at Box 4432, Vail, CO 81658.
