Otto Albert Kaletsch

WEST CORNWALL — Otto Albert Kaletsch, a proud Berlin-American, trustee Emeritus at Franklin University of Switzerland, former Mercedes Benz USA board member, a staunch promoter of German culture and a resident of West Cornwall, died peacefully at his West Cornwall home surrounded by his family, on May 11, 2015. He was 87.

Mr. Kaletsch was born on Nov. 26, 1927, in Berlin, Germany, to Konrad and Auguste Kaletsch. 

Mr. Kaletsch never finished high school. At 16 he was put into involuntary military service for the German army as “Flakhelfer,” digging trenches to defend against Allied tanks. He was sent to the Eastern Front and, after helping a wounded soldier, was designated the company medic. He barely survived the brutal winter of 1945 and retreat from the Russian Army. At the end of the war he was inevitably captured and was sent to an American POW Camp. 

After the War, Mr. Kaletsch was released to a relative’s farm and was able to reunite with his family. He worked in his mother’s movie house in Rottach and fell in love with Rita Hayworth in “You Were Never Lovelier.” This fueled his desire to come to the USA. He saw the film so often without subtitles he knew every word by heart. By 1948 he played guitar in Hot Club West, a jazz group in Duesseldorf. He then began his business apprenticeship at Reining Co. in Duesseldorf and then practical experience working for Böhler Stahl. 

In 1951, Mr. Kaletsch arrived in New York City on the Nieve Amsterdam and began a career that would lead to working for the Flick Group, discovering untapped markets in Brazil, to working for the Rockefellers at IBEC and eventually to starting his own company, Panta, Inc., in 1963 to help German businesses do business in the United States. A few of Panta’s notable clients were Flick Group, Dynamit Nobel, Krauss Maffei, the Pentagon and Mercedes Benz. 

Mr. Kaletsch was not a morning person, and in Brazil he perfected his unusual working hours of rising close to noon and working and partying into the late hours. He also discovered his love of rhythm instruments, especially the conga drum, in Brazil. It was on Ipanema Beach in Brazil that he was nicknamed “Pluto” and maintained close friendships from his “turma” until his death.

Irene Diaman and Mr. Kaletsch were married on Dec.  22, 1957, at St. Peters Lutheran Church in New York City. They had two children, Konrad and Tatiana, and were divorced in 1974. 

He bought his house in West Cornwall in 1960 as a weekend place, and he spent his life improving his property until he became a full-time resident in the late 1980s. Every September for years he would host an Oktoberfest, and it became so popular that eventually he had to shut down the festivities.

In 1961, Mr. Kaletsch became a citizen of the USA. Ronald Reagan was Mr. Kaletsch’s favorite president, and Mr. Kaletsch once had the honor of donating his favorite horse, Tiger Murphy, to the Washington, D.C., Park Police and it became President Reagan’s favorite mount to ride. 

Since 1982 Mr. Kaletsch was a lifetime member of the Metropolitan Opera Club and an enthusiastic supporter of Tanglewood. His favorite opera was Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger.” Mr. Kaletsch credited the writings of Peter Drucker and Goethe as being influential in his life. 

Based on his experience, Mr. Kaletsch eagerly challenged the belief held by most Americans after World War II that all Germans were Nazis, and he worked tirelessly to promote the positive aspects of German culture. His idea was that this could come about through educating a generation of Americans about Germans and Germany. One result was that he helped found the German Forum in New York.

Accordingly, for the German-American tricentennial anniversary of German immigration to the United States, on Oct. 18, 1983, Mr. Kaletsch rented Carnegie Hall for the celebrations that included President Carstens of Germany. It was also celebrated at the White House where Mr. Kaletsch got an opportunity to discuss Tiger Murphy with President Reagan. In 1987 the German government recognized his efforts when he received the Bundesverdienstkreuz, the German Medal of Merit. 

Education was always important for Mr. Kaletsch, and from the time his daughter Tatiana attended Franklin College in Lugano, Switzerland, Franklin College became his lifetime passion. He helped get the college its first accreditation as a four-year college, then guided Franklin as chairman of the board into a new larger campus, and becoming a university. Today, the original Franklin College campus has been renamed the Kaletsch Campus, overlooking beautiful Lake Lugano. 

In 1991, he married Nina von Moltke Shepard, the love of his life, and spent the last 23 years as a devoted husband and parent to his stepchildren and grandchildren. 

Mr. Kaletsch was known for his “can do” spirit, his integrity, his knowledge and his love for his family and friends. He never backed down from a challenge. It was more important for Mr. Kaletsch to “get things done”  than to receive recognition for doing them. 

At the age of 85, Mr. Kaletsch published his memoirs, called “Life Stories,” available at www.Amazon.com. In 2013 he and his wife purchased Baird’s General Store in Cornwall Bridge as an investment — a totally new direction for him, the grocery business and his stepson’s Cornwall Country Market. 

Locally, Mr. Kaletsch was also involved in the real estate business in Torrington and for years worked on the board of Torrington-based Seitz Corp. 

Mr. Kaletsch is survived by his wife Nina (Shepard); his son, Konrad and his wife, Susanna Kaletsch, and their children, Zachary and Malcolm, of Brooklyn and Saugerties, N.Y.; his daughter, Tatiana Kaletsch of New York City, and her children, Valentin, Catarina and Sebastian; his stepchildren, Christopher, Lawrence and James Shepard and their families; and his caretaker and friend, Gene Black and his family.

A funeral service was held May 18 at St. Peter’s in Cornwall. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the VNA Northwest. 

There will be a memorial service in the summer.

Arrangements are under the care of the Kenny Funeral Home in Sharon.