Stanley “Stan” Waltz holds his Code Enforcement Officer of the Year plaque from the Midcoast Code Enforcement Officers Association in 2017. (LCN file photo)
Lifelong Nobleboro resident and civil servant Stanley “Stan” Waltz is being remembered as a community-focused and kindhearted individual by those that knew him.
Waltz, who passed away on Monday, Nov. 11 at Maine Medical Center in Portland, was best known for being the code enforcement officer at one time or another in 11 towns across Lincoln County over roughly 20 years. Outside of work, he stayed active in his community as a member of the Damariscotta-Newcastle Lions Club, Wells-Hussey American Legion Post 42, and Alna-Anchor Lodge No. 43.
“He was always generous with his time,” said Mark Potter, of the Damariscotta-Newcastle Lions Club. “I’m sure he helped and no one will ever know it; that’s the kind of man he was.”
Waltz was born and raised in Nobleboro, attending Nobleboro Central School and graduating from Lincoln Academy, of Newcastle, in 1972.
One of Waltz’s first jobs was mowing lawns and doing yard work at Nobleboro’s Camp Kieve from 1964-1969, according to an April 11, 2022 episode of the defunct Kieve Wavus “Education Storytellers Podcast.”
After his graduation from Lincoln Academy in 1972, Waltz enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was honorably discharged in 1977 and attended Andover College, of Portland, where he obtained an associate degree in business and accounting.
Waltz returned to the Nobleboro community, where he served on the town’s budget committee from 1990-1997, on the planning board from 1995-2003, and on the select board from 2004-2007.
Waltz’s career as a code enforcement officer began in his hometown in 2005.
He was drawn into the code enforcement business when he was serving on the Nobleboro Select Board, according to previous reporting by The Lincoln County News. Ken Morang, Nobleboro’s code enforcement officer at the time, suggested Waltz study to take the tests to become certified so he could take Morang’s place.
Morang died only nine hours after current Nobleboro Select Board Chair Richard “Dick” Spear told him Waltz would be studying under him for a year to eventually take his place, said Waltz in an Oct. 11, 2021 Lincoln County News article.
Over the years, Waltz took on the position on a part-time and full-time basis in numerous towns across the county, including in Bremen, Damariscotta, Jefferson, and Waldoboro.
Waldoboro Town Manager Julie Keizer met Waltz in 2011 when she was in the process of buying a home in Damariscotta.
“He was the first public servant that I talked to when I moved to Maine … And I asked him about the property that we were buying, and he gave me the whole history of it. He was helpful and wonderful,” Keizer said during a Waldoboro Select Board meeting on Nov. 12. “And I went home and I told my code enforcement officer in New Jersey – who occasionally was a little rough – that I met the most wonderful code enforcement officer in Maine, and that’s the way it should be.”
Keizer said Waltz was so much more than a colleague to her. She and her husband used to go to dinner with Waltz and his wife, Lynn, every Thursday night at King Eider’s Pub in Damariscotta.
“I will tell you, he was absolutely just the kindest, gentlest, most generous human. I will miss him dearly,” she said. “He’s irreplaceable. He really is.”
Waltz’s was named 2017 Code Enforcement Officer of the Year by the Midcoast Code Enforcement Officers Association.
He took a step back from the code enforcement officer position in Damariscotta and Bremen in September 2021 because his doctor told him to “cut down on stress,” according to previous reporting by The Lincoln County News. He continued to work in Waldoboro and Nobleboro.
Bremen Town Clerk Melanie Pendleton knew Waltz in both a professional and a personal capacity, as both the town’s code enforcement officer and a childhood friend.
“We grew up in Nobleboro together,” Pendleton said. “(He was) an absolutely wonderful person.”
Stanley “Stan” Waltz at the Damariscotta town office in 2021. (LCN file photo)
Pendleton said Waltz was very involved in the community, but that it was largely behind the scenes. He was the kind of person who wouldn’t want to be recognized for his efforts, she said.
“People don’t understand how much he did for the community,” she said. “It’s a huge loss for the entire community and our tiny town.”
A friend and fellow Lion, Potter met Waltz when they attended Lincoln Academy together. The pair found out they were distant cousins after striking up a friendship, Potter said.
Potter and Waltz joined the Damariscotta-Newcastle Lions Club about a year apart, in 1983 and 1984, respectively. Both were sponsored by Waltz’s former employer John Curtis, a self-employed painter and general contractor, according to Potter.
“John (Curtis) brought me in a year before he invited Stan,” he said. “(Stan and I) worked together on various projects, and we both kind of did jobs in the different offices within the club.”
Potter said fellow Lion and former District Governor Walter Gallant, who passed away in 2004, had urged him to run for district governor in the early 1990s. According to Potter, he told Gallant that he would not do it unless Waltz agreed to be his secretary treasurer.
Potter’s wish came true, and the pair campaigned at clubs from Brunswick to Lincoln and from Mount Desert Island to Eustis.
Potter was district governor from 1992-1993, overseeing Lions Clubs throughout the state, and Waltz was secretary treasurer.
“He did an outstanding job … I’m only as good as the people around me, and close to me was an outstanding individual,” Potter said.
According to Wells-Hussey American Legion Post 42 Cmdr. Ryan Coffin, a passion project of Waltz’s was working with both the Legion and Alna-Anchor Lodge No. 43 to coordinate wreath sales and an annual wreath-laying ceremony at Hillside Cemetery in Damariscotta for Wreaths Across America. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1992 to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Coffin said he knew Waltz for roughly 30 years. The two worked on construction sites together and were both members of Wells-Hussey American Legion Post 42.
“He was just always a really good guy,” said Coffin. “He was always there to answer a question, whether it pertained to him or not.”
Coffin recalled that on the morning of Nov. 11, he texted Waltz and other members of Post 42 to wish them a happy Veterans Day.
“He messaged back, ‘Happy Veterans Day,’ with a heart emoji … I heard about (his passing) four hours later … That was hard to hear,” said Coffin. “He will be missed.”
Waltz is survived by his wife, Lynn, and their children Tyler, Travis, and Caitlin.
Visitation will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21 at the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home in Damariscotta. Waltz will be laid to rest privately with military honors at the Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Augusta.
(LCN reporters Johnathan Riley and Molly Rains contributed to this article.)
