Edward Nicholas Kratzke of Westminster, Maryland, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on December 7, 2024. He was 76. Ned, as he was known to his family, is survived by his wife of 35 years, Rene Kratzke. 

Born October 14, 1948, in Newark, New Jersey, Ned was the second child of Otto and Katherine Kratzke, and grew up in Cranford, New Jersey. He was a graduate of Union County Technical Institute and the New Jersey Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Engineering Technology. He excelled in his studies and was admitted to the Tau Alpha Pi National Honor Society in Engineering. He began a career in surveying, working first for his township in New Jersey and later across the country from New Hampshire to Colorado, and eventually transitioned to environmental engineering, monitoring, and remediation. He worked extensively on Superfund sites in New Jersey and Missouri for engineering contractors Ebasco and Foster Wheeler. It was this work that earned him the nickname “The Toxic Avenger” from his father-in-law. He concluded his career serving as an Engineering Tech for Frederick County, Maryland, for 16 years before retiring in 2016. 

Ned was a lover of the natural landscapes of America and avid bird watcher. An admirer of the naturalists John Muir and Henry David Thoreau, he lived life and encountered nature on his own terms by traveling, camping, canoeing, and hiking extensively across the United States and Canada in his young adult years. He married the love of his life, Rene (nee Buettner) in 1989, and together they enjoyed traveling to experience the natural wonders of North America, visiting the Adirondacks, Acadia National Park, and Great Smokey Mountains of the Eastern United States; the Grand Canyon, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Park in the West; and Nova Scotia, the Canadian Rockies, and British Colombia. 

In addition to his love of nature, Ned was devoted to World War II history and loved railroading, having grown up near the Lehigh Valley Railroad and Jersey Central Railroad in his hometown. 

Ned was quiet but poignant in his remarks, analytical and helpful with his advice, and sharp-witted with his observations of life and society. Above all this, he was a loving and devoted husband as well as strong-willed, determined, and driven by a great curiosity for life. It was these traits and the support of his wife that helped him endure the debilitating effects of ataxia, a neurodegenerative illness that affected him over the last 15 years. 

Ned is survived by his loving wife of 35 years, Rene; his sister Susan Zbozny; his sisters- and brothers-in-law Karin and Neil Grasso, Cassandra and Mike Forcucci, William and Merilee Buettner, Mary and Bob Styron, and John and Rita Buettner, along with his many nieces, nephews, and grandnieces.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, December 12, 2024 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Fletcher Funeral & Cremation Services, 254 E. Main St., Westminster.  Funeral services will begin at 7:30 p.m.  Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent to BridgingLife, 200 Memorial Avenue, Westminster, MD 21157, or via the website https://www.lifebridgehealth.org/giving/bridginglife.