Carl Peter Gertz

Carl Peter Gertz, 85, passed away peacefully on July 18, 2025 in Henderson, NV, after a short illness.

Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Carl graduated from Harper High and went on to earn a degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University in 1961. He later received a Master of Science in Systems Management from the University of Southern California in 1970. Carl moved to Las Vegas in 1987 and made it his home.

A lifelong Cubs fan, Carl always told the story that as a kid it was tough growing up on the Southside with all the White Sox fans! He wore a Cubs baseball cap almost every day and always loved being greeted with “Go Cubs Go!” by fellow fans.

Carl was deeply loved and will be missed by his extended and blended family. He was married to Beatrice (Bea) Reilly for over 30 years. He is also survived by his daughters Charlee Garden, Cheryl Pantalone and Cortney Markham (Brian), and two stepsons he helped rear with Bea: Dale Keller (Samantha) and Benjamin Keller (Mica). From a previous marriage, he is also survived by stepchildren: Rick, Jeremy and Keri. He has 13 grandchildren he loved dearly: Blake, Grace, Mikayla (Nate), Ella, Aubree, Jacob, Ashley, Zaf, Avery, Benny, Elaine, Addie and Alex. His parting wish for them was to live life to the fullest and always treat others with kindness and respect. Carl was proud of everything he did in his life and had no regrets.

Professionally, Carl’s career spanned engineering, nuclear science and public information. His favorite and most controversial role was the Yucca Mountain Project Manager from 1987 to 1993 in Las Vegas. He led a highly skilled team of scientists and engineers studying the viability of Yucca Mountain in Nye County, NV as a permanent storage place for the country’s high level nuclear waste. Though the Project was eventually halted for political reasons, Carl remained proud of the scientific integrity and accomplishments of his team.

His avocation in life was officiating football here in Las Vegas and in the Mountain West and the Big 12 College Conferences. A long time member of the Southern Nevada Officials Association (SNOA), he refereed five Nevada state championship games and received The Albert Crosby Award For Excellence in Football Officiating in 2015 from the SNOA. When the Mountain West Conference introduced instant replay in 2005, Carl and his close friend Terry Tait, were selected as UNLV’s first replay officials, a role he continued in the Mountain West and Big 12 conferences through the 2022 season. He passed on his love of officiating to his sons – one now officiates in the NFL and the other in the ACC Conference.

Carl’s other great passion was skiing. He first hit the slopes in Red Lodge, Montana, in the early ’60s, and spent the next six decades sharing the sport with his family. He and Bea bought a condo in Park City Mountain Resort over 20 years ago to create a special family gathering place. He lived and skied by the same motto, “if you don’t fall, you aren’t skiing hard enough!”

He spent the early part of his career with Boeing, managing construction sites for Minuteman missile installments in the ’60s during the Cold War. This work took him and his young family across the West, including Great Falls, MT, Rapid City, SD, Minot, ND, Sedalia, MO, Grand Forks, ND and Cheyenne, WY.

He later worked at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), and in 1977 he joined the Department of Energy in Idaho Falls. His responsibilities included overseeing low level Nuclear Waste Operations, managing nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities and being the Project Manager for the Special Isotope Separation Project, which used laser technology to recover plutonium from spent fuel.

Carl concluded his career in Las Vegas with the DOE’s Environmental Program (EM) at the Nevada National Security Site (formerly Nevada Test Site) ultimately serving as EM manager. He worked there from 1993 until his retirement in 2005.

Carl was preceded in death by his parents Carl Frederick Gertz and Bernice Rose Karpis, his brothers Alan and Ken, all Chicago residents, and his grandson Blake Turner.

A party will be held at a later date to honor Carl’s memory. Rest in peace, Carl. We’ll meet you at the chairlift.