Obituary of Louis Bertram Muhly

Louis Bertram 'Bert' Muhly 6/18/23 - 12/16/11 Bert was born in Glenburnie, Anne Arundel County, Maryland on June 18th 1923 to John Henry and Louise Bertha Muhly. He graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic High School and accepted a football and academic scholarship to Union College in Schenectady, New York where he became a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. After Pearl Harbor, Bert enlisted in the US Army Air Corps serving as a meteorologist, and was honorably discharged as a sergeant. He and Lois Roberts met in Austin, TX, where he was stationed with her brother. They were married on October 19th 1946 in Berkeley, California. They recently celebrated their 65th anniversary Bert received a BS degree in Business Administration from University of California, Berkeley in 1948, and an MCP degree from the Department of City and Regional Planning at Berkeley in 1952. Bert's Urban and Regional planning career spanned 39 years in California. He spent twenty years practicing in Solano, Fresno, Tulare, Kern and Santa Cruz counties. He retired from Santa Cruz County in 1970 and before embarking on his teaching career, received a certificate on British New Towns and Social Planning at the University of Manchester, England (1970). He taught at the Environmental Studies Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and the Graduate Planning Program of California State University, San Jose (CSUSJ). He was Professor Emeritus from CSUSJ in 1989. Bert's political career coincided with the beginning of his teaching career in 1970. He assisted in the development and promotion of Proposition 20, the California Coastal Protection Act, which established the California Coastal Commission, effective February, 1973. From 1973 to 1981 he served two terms on the Santa Cruz City Council, serving as Mayor from 1974-75. He was the City's representative to the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG), and served as AMBAG President; he was appointed as AMBAG's representative on the Regional Coastal Commission, and was the first President of CAL-COG, an organization of the 24 Councils of Government(COGs). At the same time he was appointed to the Planning Advisory and Assistance Council (PAAC) serving Governor Jerry Brown. His political activities included participating in the election of local, state, and national government representatives, fundraising with his famous Chesapeake Bay crab cakes. He also served professional organizations, including The American Institute of Planners (AIP), the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and more committees and assignments than he could recall; notably being elected as the first Director of the Central Section of the California Chapter of AIP (CCAIP), Vice-president and Legislative Chair of CCAIP, and President of CCAIP from 1965-66. Several years later he was elected Director of the Northern Section of AIP. He was elected in 2000 as a Fellow (F.A.I.C.P.) of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Beginning in 1982, Bert visited Nicaragua more than 25 times, where he was actively involved in projects for the empowerment of the Nicaraguan people. He was instrumental in consummating the sister cities relationship between Santa Cruz and the communities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain and Jinotepe, Nicaragua. He also participated in several Pastors for Peace caravans to Cuba and Central America, promoting reasonable foreign policy while delivering material and humanitarian aid. In 2002, Bert and Lois co-founded the local non-profit Three Americas, Inc, with educational, environmental and humanitarian projects in North, South, and Central America, importing and selling Nicaraguan coffee as a means of funding. In his spare time Bert enjoyed camping, hiking and sharing his love of the outdoors with his wife and family. He was an avid amateur photographer. He traveled to 49 of the 50 states, visited over 24 countries; coached numerous youth sports; and rarely missed a child or grandchild's game or production. Bert is survived by his wife Lois, daughter Patricia Anne Muhly de Vargas (Martin), son William Stanley Muhly (Liza), daughter Jennifer Louise Hutson (John), daughter Janet Susan Windt (Mike), and son Ernest Bertram Muhly (Cindy). He is also survived by fifteen grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter Sally Dorathea and grandson Miguel David Munoz. Services will be held at the First Congregational Church at 900 High Street, Santa Cruz on Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please support your favorite cause.