Lawrence "Larry" Stitt

Lawrence (Larry) L. Stitt, a bridge engineer who retired from Caltrans and several consulting engineering firms, died July 4, 2013 at Sacramento, CA. He was born in Brookings, SD on December 8, 1929, the son of Lyle and Vera Stitt and the second of five siblings. His 1952 military active duty was in Korea with the 45th Infantry Division, the Oklahoma National Guard's "Thunderbirds." He attended UC-Berkeley and graduated from CSUS with a degree in mathematics. Larry never married and had no children of his own but loved his nieces and nephews and always looked forward to being with them at the large family holiday gatherings. He was known to all as a very generous and helpful man. He was a patron of the San Francisco Opera and Metropolitan Opera and endowed several scholarships at the Elks National Foundation, South Dakota State University, California State University, Sacramento, and UC Berkeley. For over 50 years, Citrus Heights was his home before moving to Carmichael three years ago.

Larry was very proud of his service to his country during the Korean war and really enjoyed attending the Oklahoma reunions of the 45th Infantry Division "Thunderbirds". He loved traveling and outdoor life, both of which were an important part of his life as a bridge engineer. He administered bridge projects all over California in all kinds of climates and was able to enjoy his favorite fishing, hunting and other outdoor activities while living/working at the various job sites for extended periods as a home away from home. Larry was a lifelong investor and philanthropist so for a totally different kind of travel, he enjoyed traveling to Omaha, NE, for the annual shareholder's meetings of Berkshire Hathaway in order to hear his idol, CEO Warren Buffet, speak - he was a disciple of Warren Buffet's philosophies.

Three of his favorite pastimes were bicycling, woodworking and compiling family history and genealogy. As in everything he did, he took his hobbies very seriously. He rode not only standard bicycles but also antique "High Wheel" bicycles. He was a member of The Wheelmen, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to keeping alive the heritage of American cycling, promoting the restoration and riding of early cycles and encouraging cycling as part of modern living. Practicing what he preached, he commuted by bicycle between his Citrus Heights home and his downtown Sacramento office by bicycle. He was featured with his collection of antique bicycles in a 1987 front page headline article in the Press Tribune newspaper. Woodworking was another favorite hobby of Larry's and he was a fine craftsman - He enjoyed designing and building fine furniture and built a number of major pieces of furniture. For his family history and genealogy hobby, Larry compiled numerous volumes of information. He was always gathering information, even to the extent of going through cemeteries in Europe to get names and dates from gravestones. He took it upon himself to make certain that the family legacy was not lost.

Larry is survived by brothers Carroll of Floral Park, NY and Allen of Manteca, sister Lorraine Mancebo of San Jose and brother-in-law Don Gaubatz, of Cupertino and many nephews, nieces , grand nephews and grand nieces. A sister, Cathy Gaubatz, and Larry's parents predeceased him. Friends are invited to attend a Memorial Service at 1:30 PM on August 3, 2013 at Reichert's Funeral Service, 7320 Auburn Boulevard, Citrus Heights, CA. In liu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Elks National Foundation, 2750 N. Lakeview Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60614.

Professional Resume

During his 36-year Caltrans career, Lawrence Stitt administered bridge construction contracts, designed bridges, and wrote project specifications and developed bridge and building specifications.

During 18 years of bridge construction work, he administered 17 Caltrans contracts located in all climate regions of California. He administered the bridge construction contracts for about half the bridges on I-80 built between Colfax and the summit just east of Soda Springs. The two curved steel girder bridges across the Klamath River at Rodgers Creek on Highway 96, about 6 miles north of Somesbar in Trinity County were the most spectacular bridges for which he administered the construction contract. He also administered the contract for the South Fork of the Eel River Bridge south of Scotia on Highway 10,1 which became one of 7 bridges winning First Prize in the AISC national contest in 1967. One of the Rogers Creek bridges won a similar prize in 1971. His hottest assignment was administering the bridge contract work for the twenty-five mile section of Interstate 40 just west of Needles (replacing U.S. Highway 66). Another hot job was the first large contract he administered: the Union Avenue Underpass riveted steel girder bridge for the Santa Fe Railway's double-track crossing over Union Avenue (then US Highway 99) in Bakersfield which was built in 1955-7. Technically, the most challenging project was the widening and repair of the Sacramento River Bridge at Antlers, a deck truss bridge on curved alignment spanning the north end of Shasta Lake at Lakehead. Lots of cracks had developed in the structural steel in the original steel truss. These were repaired and the transverse beams supporting the deck stringers had to be reinforced by welding an additional steel tee to the top flange. In 1954 and 55 he was the chief inspector on the first contract for building the Cypress Street Viaduct in Oakland--this is the part of the I-880 structure that is still in use. The part of the Cypress Street Viaduct built under the subsequent second contract has been replaced on new alignment after it collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. He represented the State of California Bridge Department as a member of flood damage survey teams made up of County, State and Federal employees in 1955-6 and 1965 in Kern, Tulare, and Trinity counties.

He prepared or checked the structural designs of some 60 bridges while assigned to a bridge design section.

He prepared bridge and building project specifications for the structure work on more than 600 Caltrans contracts and developed standardized clauses for both bridge and building contracts. He wrote bridge project specifications for consulting engineers after retiring from Caltrans. He organized a 2-day Specification Writing class (teaching a substantial part of it) for the Civil Engineers and Land Surveyors of California that was given throughout California once or twice a year for several years.