printable versionTwo members of campus Police Department’s old guard die
Retired officers Carl Gielitz and William Wullschleger served over three decades
BY MICHAEL PEÑA
William Wullschleger
Carl Gielitz
Two veterans of the Stanford Police Department died last month. Carl Nelson Gielitz, who earned the ominous moniker "Captain Midnight" during his days as a motorcycle-patrol officer in the 1950s, died on Nov. 18 at the age of 87. William Louis Wullschleger, who spent 36 years in the department before retiring in 1997, died on Nov. 26. He was 79.
After suffering a series of strokes in 2002, Gielitz moved into a retirement home in Sunnyvale. But at the time of his death, after a prolonged illness, he was being cared for at Washington Hospital in Fremont. His sister and only survivor, Mary Dutton, was by his side.
Over his 33 years at Stanford, Gielitz worked as a patrol officer, sergeant and detective—eventually retiring in 1981. At least one publication on campus, the student magazine Chaparral, used to run cartoon strips of Captain Midnight, who in real life rode a large Harley-Davidson and wore a white flowing scarf and "brain bucket," dark aviator shades, and black leather jacket and boots.
Although colleagues couldn't pinpoint the origin of Gielitz's nickname, his 6-foot frame and reputation for "handing out citations to violators as if they were free tickets to a police charity ball" added to Captain Midnight's mystique, according to retired Stanford police Capt. Raoul Niemeyer.
"He was just a big teddy bear," said Niemeyer, who retired in 1999. "He wasn't mean at all."
A lieutenant in the Army Air Corps during World War II, Gielitz was an authority on firearms, Niemeyer said, which explains his later appointment as the department's first bona fide range master and instructor. Gielitz also created the department's first crime prevention program for students, staff and homeowners by holding seminars and drafting early safety-tip brochures.
Gielitz grew up in Palo Alto and earned an Associate of Arts degree in engineering in 1941 from San Mateo Junior College. He enlisted in the Army in 1942 and was later hired by Stanford in 1948. He retired in 1981.
Wullschleger began his 40-plus years in law enforcement in 1953 with the Menlo Park Police Department. He left after five years to run a bar in North Las Vegas, subsequently coming to Stanford in 1961. He was promoted to sergeant a year later and then to captain in 1967. Affectionately known as "Captain Bill," he remained second in command for three decades.
According to his stepson John Stafford, Wullschleger was among close friends and family when he died at a hospice center in Fairfield. In addition to Stafford, Wullschleger is survived by his wife of more than 34 years, Crystal Wullschleger, stepson Marty Shook, daughter-in-law Brigitte Stafford, sister-in-law Joanne Wullschleger and nephew John Wullschleger. He also is survived by seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Born in San Francisco, Bill Wullschleger attended Lincoln High School and later Mountain View High School, when his family moved to Los Altos. After graduating, he joined the Navy prior to the end of World War II. After attending boot camp in San Diego, he was transferred to a naval discharge center in Pleasanton—arriving in time to type out his brother Jack's discharge papers and later his own, according to Stafford.
An avid waterfowl hunter, Wullschleger and his brother belonged to the North End Duck Club in Suisun Marsh for many years. He also loved to fish—most often, for salmon—in the waters off the Golden Gate Bridge with friends and family, and he enjoyed playing cards online and with fellow residents of Paradise Valley Estates in Fairfield.
Niemeyer said Wullschleger also succumbed to prolonged illness. Family members have planned a private service on Dec. 9, and in lieu of flowers, they request that anyone considering making a donation choose their own charity.
Gielitz was to be interred at Alta Mesa Cemetery in Palo Alto on Dec. 5.