Karl Pflock’s Official Obituary
Posted by: Loren Coleman on June 17th, 2006
When it was learned that Karl Pflock died recently, Cryptomundo noted his passing due to the fact he had, now and then, skeptically also tackled a few cryptozoological topics. I had corresponded with Karl during his life, and I wanted to note his departure from the scene. I have since, again, heard from his widow, who sends a formal obituary to be published here, so exacting details can be shared properly.
We express our sympathies to Karl’s family, once again.
Mary Martinek emails along the following:
Karl Tomlinson Pflock
06 January 1943 — 05 June 2006
PFLOCK — Karl T. Pflock, died June 5, 2006 in Placitas, N.M. He was 63 years old and passed away after combating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as “Lou Gerhig’s disease.” He died at his home with his family. Pflock was an author of fiction and nonfiction, best known for his nonfiction book Roswell: Inconvenient Facts and the Will to Believe (Prometheus, 2001), in which he concluded that the famous “crashed flying saucer” in Roswell, N.M. in 1947 was actually a highly-classified program called Project Mogul, which was designed to determine if the Soviet Union was conducting atmospheric testing of an atomic bomb. A former CIA intelligence officer (1966-72), Pflock returned to full-time writing and independent research in 1992 after devoting 11 years to public service and private consulting, during which he was a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration; a senior staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives; and a strategic planning consultant to the U.S. Department of Energy and other U.S. corporations and federal agencies. Karl Pflock is survived by his wife, Mary Martinek, and his children Jennifer Martinek, Cynthia Newbury, Kurt Pflock, Anna Pflieger, Aaron Pflock, as well as 12 grandchildren and one great grandchild. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to assist in researching cures and mitigations of ALS. Contributions may be made to MDA/ALS, C/O Bank of America, 6201 San Mateo Blvd., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109; memo line should specify “research.”
French Mortuary
9300 Golf Course Rd. NW
(505) 897-0300
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
My Prayers go to his family. A lost loved one is not an easy thing to deal with God Bless.
I won’t miss him. He clouded the issue and tried to debunk a man of courage Major Jessie Marcel. His book was a prime exanple of the belief that we the witnesses are stupid people can’t be trusted, we don’t have eyes to see with, don’t have minds to think with, and can’t distinquish between rubber, ciggerett paper, and ballsa wood. He along with his other debunking friends throughout history have done nothing for the betterment of science and have a distain for the truthfullness of anyone who has the courage to come out and state something diferent. One less is good for us. But there are millions more ready to try and distroy your reputation or your courage. Some might say I’m bitter. But I pray for those who stand report in spite of the dangers. There was no danger for him just money.
Joseph Capp
Brooklyn, NY
Weird happens. People encounter mysterious lights, objects, creatures and entities.
One need not believe in such things in order to meet them.
The easy answers of believers and debunkers both fall short.
I am not convinced that E-T is abducting anyone. Or that orbs caught on digital cameras are spirits. Or that pterodactyls and Bigfoot frolic in rural America.
Being skeptical and open-minded at the same time, I advocate
objectivity and call for research and investigation without bias.
Hard questions are better than easy answers.
Skeptics keep the “kooks” honest!
We need more like Karl Pflock…