Obituary of Heinz Gunter Ahlman

Heinz Gunter Ahlman peacefully passed away on September 22, 2023, surrounded by his loved ones. He was a graduate of Mt. Tahoma High School, class of 1970. Heinz met, fell in love, and married Susanna (Ulrich) of Puyallup, WA, in 1971. He was in the Army briefly and attended boot camp at Ft. Lewis. Heinz attended Clover Park Vocational Technical Institute and came out with a certification as a Telephone Technician – back in the day when dial-up was the only way to access the Internet, and no one would have believed we would see a personal computer in every household. He had no idea he was part of the dawning of the age of the Internet of Everything. Heinz enjoyed working with technology and the delivery of information. His career path led him to work for 30 years for the State of Washington in the Department of Information Services. He retired in 2017.

More than anything, he and Sue loved being around animals—especially dogs and horses. Heinz was the retired President of the GSPC of Washington, one of the original founding members of NGSPA Region 10 Championships in the 1980s, and a major supporter of Field Trials and Hunt Tests. He judged over 400 field trials/championships and supported the AKC and the American Field. Heinz and Sue were always willing to give back to the sport and the dogs. They were a bonded couple that greeted everyone with a smile and support.

Heinz is survived by his devoted wife, Sue; his daughter Rebekah (Ahlman) Barnes, and her husband, Ed Barnes of (New York), currently residing in Concord, CA; his two favorite grandchildren, David Brelia, Jr. of Puyallup, WA and Taylor Brelia, a sophomore at Central Washington University. He is also survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Michael and Shirley Ahlman of Gig Harbor, WA and his sister and brother-in-law Karin Ahlman and Garry Wanner of Silverdale, WA. He is preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Erna Ahlman.