Ernest J. Altgelt

1941 – 2023

Ernest Altgelt peacefully passed on Saturday, October 7, 2023 from advanced Parkinson’s comorbidities from Agent Orange Exposure during the Vietnam War with his wife, two sons, and caregiver at his bedside. Just six days before his hospitalization he had happily celebrated his 54th wedding anniversary to Ingrid with a beaming smile and much will, strength, and joy to live many more years with her, his sons, his caregivers, and his friends.

Ernest was born in Manhattan, New York on December 5, 1941, and predeceased by his parents Mary Love and Ernest Altgelt II and his sister Mary Elizabeth. He loved his parents and sister greatly. Ernest attended and credited Hackley Preparatory School in Tarrytown, NY with molding his character and preparing him for life. Ernest graduated from both the University of Texas at Austin School of Business in 1964 and its School of Law in 1966 in the upper 25%. While attending UT he ran cross country and received both his airplane pilots license and then his instrument rating.

In July 1967, shortly after graduating from law school, the US Army drafted Ernest into active service and accepted him to join the Army Judge Advocate General Corps. The Army commissioned him for four years as an officer and ordered him to active duty. He gave his all to being an outstanding attorney for the US Army and in his first year received two letters of commendation for his work and rose to Chief of the Legal Assistance Section. In 1968 the Army sent Ernest to the Republic of Vietnam. He continued to answer his call to service and frequently went into combat zones to interview soldiers in connection with the cases assigned to him where he was often exposed to toxic herbicide agents that ultimately took his life. “Captain Altgelt” received the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in connection with military operations against a hostile force and Army Commendation Medals for his continued high level of service to his country.

Ernest married Ingrid on August 9, 1969, in NY in an intimate chapel ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral followed by a small reception at the Plaza Hotel. He immediately legally adopted her 3-year-old son James as his own and in name. During his career he served as counsel to and retired from the State of Texas’ Attorney General’s Office, Dept. of Criminal Justice, and General Land Office. Ernest’s legal career also included a decade in litigation private practice starting on Wall Street, sixteen years in oil and gas corporate practice in Houston, and a lifetime of providing free estate and adoption services for the poor and helping worthy causes, his church, his family, and his friends.

Ernest was a licensed attorney in both Texas and New York and Board Certified in Civil Trial Law until his passing. He was admitted to practice before twelve Federal Courts including The U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Tax Court, Bankruptcy Courts, and District Courts. He served on the board of several legal organizations and was proud of his longstanding membership in the New York City Bar Association. The State Bar of Texas officially recognized Ernest for providing outstanding contributions to the delivery of free legal services to low-income Texans in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010. His great-grandfather and namesake, Ernest Hermann Altgelt, a German immigrant Freethinker and Slavery Abolitionist, founded Comfort, Texas in 1854. Ernest also passionately opposed all racism, inequality, injustice, and corruption. He devoted several years exposing, fighting, and reforming a corrupt public co-op utility. The general manager and its lawyer went to jail and Austin’s oldest law firm permanently closed its doors.

Ernest believed Lakeway, Texas is heaven on earth. He retired there in his beloved modern home designed and built by his favorite architect and dear friend of over 50 years. He quickly integrated into the community volunteering for almost 25 years with Lakeway’s Friends of the Park, The Men’s Breakfast Club, Emmaus Catholic Church, and other Lakeway clubs until he was no longer able to. He enjoyed attending all University of Texas Football Games in the same seats for over 50 years and matriculating to his alma mater’s alumni college every summer.

Ernest looked forward to returning to New York with his wife twice a year to see Broadway theater and watching Formula 1 Austin at Turn-12 annually with his good friend from law school. He traveled far away with his sons for many years to a poor country to build a simple home for a needy family starting in Mexico and continuing on to India, Thailand, Poland, Vietnam, Argentina, and Peru. He never missed his Vietnam War Veterans 5-Year Reunion with his surviving U.S. Army Judge Advocates General’s Corps servicemen in Washington D.C.

Ernest championed that a good education is the greatest investment. He regularly helped less fortunate students to have the same opportunities at Hackley and the University of Texas Chancellor’s Council made him a member in 2003 for his continued contributions toward academic excellence.

Ernest was most thankful for the many specialists and care prolonging his joyful life but especially Dr. Joseph Jankovic with Baylor College of Medicine, Director, Parkinson’s Disease Center in Houston following him from 2014 and Dr. David Murdy Internal Medicine, Dr. Dan Cohen Gastroenterologist, and Dr. Sunil Kolli Hospitalist with Baylor Scott and White in Lakeway. Ernest’s worsening wartime Parkinson’s symptoms were presented to the VA in 2009, but no help was provided for a decade until 2019. All VA help was excellent, but always hard fought for and always delayed or denied, sometimes for years. He waited patiently for the completion of his new handicap bedroom, bathroom, and therapy room designed by his good friend and original architect on the first floor of his home to accommodate and slow his severe Parkinson’s.

Ernest’s day-to-day life was greatly improved for years by many providers, care, and equipment, especially the tireless and loving caregiving efforts by Angie, Wale, and Noma starting in 2017. Despite his debilitating condition and total dependence on another person for over eight years, Ernest experienced much joy and will to live receiving weekly visits after his 2016 hospitalization from his close friends and priest, walking with his physical therapists, relaxing contractions and rigidity with his occupational therapists, talking with his speech therapists, reading the Wall Street Journal and NY Times daily, watching C-SPAN and PBS, and eating three scoops of ice cream s-l-o-w-l-y after dinner.

While Ernest cherished his two sons, his family, his lifelong friends, and his latest cause, he was always vocal that THE TWO GREATEST GIFTS he received in life were: Number 1 his amazing wife Ingrid and Number 2 his Catholic Faith his wife gave him. Ingrid and his Church were with him at the most joyous times, tiring times, saddening times, helpless times, and the ending times.

Ernest is survived by his Very Loving wife Ingrid, his ever-present sons Maury and James, and longtime brother-in-law Roger Campbell. Funeral services at 11AM on Saturday, November 4, 2023 at Emmaus Catholic Church at 1718 Lohmans Crossing, Lakeway, TX 78734. Emmaus does not display flowers in its church. Please remember Ernest in your memories and prayers. His favorite charities were Jankovic.org, LakewayFOP.org, HackleySchool.org, and FullerCenter.org.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).