Obituary of Elfriede Luntz

Elfriede Luntz passed away on July 2, 2023, just shy of her 97th birthday.  She lived in St Pete Beach, Florida for the past 30 years.  Elfriede or Elfi as she is known to many, is survived by her daughter, E. Susi Stodieck, and son-in-law, John Stodieck, of Groton, Massachusetts.  She is predeceased by her husband, Jerome D. Luntz in 2012.  They enjoyed a loving 49 years together. 

Born in Vienna, Austria and raised in the rural town of Hainburg an der Donau, Elfriede, with the encouragement of her mother, was tenacious about seeking better opportunities and a solid education.  She lived in Vienna through the ravages and bombings of WWII, barely escaping many harrowing encounters. Still, she worked hard to obtain a technical high school diploma which enabled her to attend the University of Vienna where she obtained an MBA (Magister degree) in 1948.  She spoke German, Hungarian, and English.  Despite her somewhat notable Austrian accent, she always claimed to have no accent! 

With Austria occupied by Americans, British, Russians, and French and no opportunities for work, Elfriede and her first husband applied for visas to the United States.  While waiting for approval, they immigrated to Australia in 1950, where their daughter, Susi was born.  They worked and lived in Australia for 6 years before returning to Austria whereupon they received visas to the United States and subsequently relocated to New York City in 1957. There Elfi and Susi started their next adventure together. 

Elfriede went on to put her MBA skills to work as a business manager and systems analyst in many businesses including Encyclopedia Britannica Press, McGraw-Hill, Marsh McLennan, Time Inc. and Seminar Development Corp.  She worked over 20 years in the computer field designing, installing, and modifying financial computer systems around the IBM 360 mainframe and later with PCs. 

But the most important part of her New York City adventure was meeting and marrying the love of her life, Jerry Luntz.  They enjoyed everything together from playing and watching tennis matches, attending opera performances around the world, and hiking through Austria.  As part of Jerry’s work, Elfriede attended the International Nucleonics Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where Jerry published the Geneva Daily to promote the peaceful use of atomic energy.  

Upon retirement, Elfriede and Jerry moved to St Pete Beach, Florida and joined the consulting firm Luntz, Suleiman and Associates.  They also joined the life-long learning group at the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College (ASPEC).  Elfi will always be remembered for her independence, warm laugh and sense of humor. 

The gathering for her remembrance will be private. 

Burial will be at the Bay Pines National Cemetery.

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