Karl Dietrich Urban

Karl was born on October 31, 1943 to Anna Marie Andert in Plzen, Czechoslovakia. At the end of World War II, Karl, his mother, Anna and his grandmother, Maria were expelled from Czechoslovakia. Sudetenland German’s were unwelcome in post war countries like Czechoslovakia, Poland and Yugoslavia. Karl was approximately 4 years old at the time. They were allowed to take one suitcase, food for 3 days and anything else they could carry. Anna bore much of the burden because of Karl’s age and her mother’s infirmity. They were gathered up without much notice and transported to Germany. God smiled on them and let them go to the west to territory held by the US, British and French.

They were loaded on cattle cars. The living conditions were horrific. Anna became ill from what she described as “hunger typhoid” and was hospitalized in Marktredwitz. Maria was an amputee and she was also hospitalized. When Anna recovered, she searched for two weeks for Karl. The nuns had him. She was told that in some cases such as this, families were never reunited. She was determined to find him. It must have been traumatic for both and they formed a special bond that lasted throughout their lifetimes.

Germany had been ravaged by the war, so food and jobs were scarce. Anna managed to find work as a secretary for the U.S. military. She met John Harvey Urban, Sr. and they got married. Mr. Urban brought Karl and Anna to Ft. Benning, GA (where he was stationed) and he adopted Karl. By this time, Anna’s mother was confined to an institution much like our skilled care nursing homes and she did not want to move again.

When Karl and Michelle wrote up the memorial for his mother, Michelle laughed at his car references. When she asked about memories of his growing up years, he told her about the cars they owned. Karl remembered they still had the Pontiac with the fins that drove the German’s crazy when the family was stationed in Germany when Karl was a teenager and they bought a Mercury convertible that Anna and Karl shared—she drove to work and he to school. Karl remembers they got rid of the Mercury and bought a red VW that Karl drove to Auburn—only rolling it over once. Then his mother bought a Lemans. Michelle thought it must be a guy thing.

Karl graduated from Baker High School in 1962 with Newt Gingrich and excelled in track, especially hurtles. He attended Columbus College for two years before going to Auburn to finish his degree in Industrial Engineering in 1966. Briefly, he served as a substitute teacher in the Muscogee County School System. He joined the United States Air Force and spent two years stateside in South Carolina during the Vietnam War. His expertise was aerial recognizance. He analyzed film taken by recognizance planes and this led to his love of photography.

In 1969, he returned to Columbus and was hired in the credit department at Sears. 1969 was also the year he met his wife, Michelle, and later married her in 1971. Michelle worked for the Department of Family and Children Services. Their son, Christopher, was born in 1975, which coincidently was the year Sears decided to promote and move Karl to the credit department in Montgomery. Christopher was 6 weeks old.

Christopher would be 6 months old before Michelle was able to take the Alabama state test to get employment in Alabama. Karl lived in a motel most of the week and came home when he could. Christopher and Michelle visited Montgomery when they could. In August 1975, they bought a house in Montgomery and their lives settled down a bit. Michelle got a job with the Department of Pensions and Security (now Department of Human Resources).

In March of 1980, Karl was again transferred to Birmingham Credit Central (Sears). Michelle was fortunate enough to gain employment with the Alabama Medicaid Agency. Christopher was in kindergarten. They bought a house in Vestavia Hills because of the school system. Christopher was fortunate enough to go all through school in the Vestavia School System.

Karl worked at the Sears Credit Central in Birmingham until it was closed in 1993. He was one of those fortunate enough to be eligible for the retirement buy-out package offered. He didn’t stop working, though. Other employment included Brookwood Hospital and Atherotech. Michelle retired in December 2001 and Karl retired in August 2002. Karl remained retired, but helped Michelle when she started her own consulting company. He also enjoyed helping Michelle with Jazzercise duties when she was an instructor. He would go with Michelle to class and help with the equipment. All the Jazzergirls loved him, as he would take pictures of any event they entered.

His love for boats and sailing gave the whole family many hours of pleasure. We always had a boat. First it was motor boats and skiing and later it was sailboats—Sunfish, Aquacat, Hobie and later 22-foot RK Industries sailboat. Karl instilled the love of sailing into Christopher.

Karl was a member of the Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church and part of the Genesis Class. He loved his Sunday school classmates because they love to do mission work and have a great time doing it. He especially enjoyed the building projects the class and church took on. He had a talent for that. He had to quit when his health began to fail him.

In 1995 he had heart bypass surgery and he came back stronger than ever. It was the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease that really slowed him down. He was diagnosed in 2012, but he had the disease years prior. He did not want to admit that he did, but he did. Complications from the disease brought about his death on 2/14/2016 at age 72.

Karl is predeceased in death by his mother and step-father, Anna and John Urban and his uncles, Walter and Karl Andert .

He is survived by his wife of almost 45 years, Michelle N. Urban, a son, Christopher M. Urban (Sharman), a grandson, Casey M. Urban, two granddaughters, Cassidy and Sophia Bowers, a niece and nephew and his brother, John H. Urban, Jr (Donna Gamlin). He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Cathy Atkinison (Curtis), brother-in-law, Mike Nutt and brother-in-law, Bob Nutt (Pat) of Eastman, GA and a niece and nephew.

He was a good and kind man who was a wonderful husband to Michelle and a great role model for his son, Christopher.

A memorial service is planned for February 22, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church, 2061 Kentucky Avenue, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216. Visitation with the family will be from 10:00 a.m. until 10:50 a.m. in the church parlor.

His ashes will be interred at the National Cemetery in Montevallo at a private family service on Tuesday, February 23rd.

The family requests donations to the Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church Missions Fund in lieu of flowers. Karl’s heart was missions. He wanted to help anyone who needed it. That was his passion.