Edward Walter Mitura, who was born in Germany, grew up in Detroit, and made his home in Junction City, Kan. for more than half a century as a soldier, businessman, teacher, and teller of unrepentant jokes, died peacefully on Sept. 19. He was 81.
Mr. Mitura was born outside Leipzig, Germany where his parents, Wladyslaw and Izabella Mitura, were held in forced labor after their capture by the Nazis. The family later emigrated to the United States and settled in Detroit, where he was raised. Over the years he answered to Edward, Eddie, Ed and, to those closest to him, Edziu.
He learned the accordion as a young child and later taught himself the piano. As a boy he also took up magic tricks, which he was known to perform while sleep-walking. As a teenager he caddied at Detroit golf courses, learning the game that would stay with him for life.
He attended three Catholic schools in Detroit, graduating valedictorian from St. Hedwig, where classmates elected him president and voted him most likely to succeed. He won a national Ford scholarship, attending the University of Notre Dame. His studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the Army, rising to the rank of captain. He later graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Political Science.
In Junction City he met Hwa Ja, known as Kay, and her three young daughters. He fell in love with all four and encouraged Kay to make her life in the United States, immediately teaching her to drive. Together they founded a series of business ventures through the 1970s, '80s and '90s, work that took Mr. Mitura around the world.
At home he coached his children's Little League teams, once buying a book to teach himself soccer so he could lead the team properly. He drove the family across the country on vacations, and made Junction City his home for more than 56 years.
A teacher at heart, he spent his later years as a substitute in Junction City public schools. During this period he discovered a gift for karaoke, beginning with Korean songs and expanding his repertoire to country ballads.
He was a fine golfer and billiards player and a devotee of puzzles, logic problems, and card games. Around town he was known for a dad joke or an unexpected fact, offered without warning. Friends and family said he rarely, if ever, held a grudge, and when asked to show up, he did.
He was predeceased by his parents; a young daughter, Irene; a son-in-law, Timothy Williamson; and a grandson, Ty Faison, who died in infancy.
In addition to his wife, Edward is survived by his sister, Barbara Mitura; his children, Hidako, Hisako, LaDonna (and her husband, Todd), Mark, and Isabelle; nine grandchildren, Laurenze, Alexander, Carson, Peyton (and her husband, Josh), Christian, Camryn, Alexa, Madison, and Jillian; two great-grandchildren; and extended family in Poland, France, Australia, and Korea.