Subseries G: Sigfried and Ursula Kolmstetter

Biographical / historical:

Siegfried and Ursula Kolmstetter joined the RATC in 1971. Siegfried served as vice president (1974) and counselor (1972-1973), while both volunteered as hike leaders for decades. The couple maintained the McAfee Knob section of the AT for over 25 years, until the couple moved out of the area in 1996. Siegfried received the Appalachian Trail Park Office's Silver Service Award in 2002.

At the end of World War II in May 1945, 17-year-old Ursula Edith Walter (1927-2023) was captured by the Russian Army and imprisoned at the Theresienstadt prison camp. Eight (8) months after her imprisonment, she escaped and moved to West Germany, where she met Siegfried J. Kolmstetter (1921-2019). They married in 1952 and had several children. The Kolmstetters immigrated to the U.S. in 1957, settling in Roanoke in 1970. Siegfried was a physician for the Veterans Administration Hospital in Salem from 1970 to 1998. He received the hospital's Hands and Heart Award in 1992.

Sources:

Box 19, Folder 33, "Sigfried and Ursula Kolmstetter Obituaries," of this collection

Box 13, Folder 44, "RATC Board Members and Ancillaries, 1932-99 compiled by Diana Christopulos and Pam Wolsey, 2023-24," of this collection

Obituary for Ursula Edith Kolmstetter, The Roanoke Times, January 3, 2024, available online from Legacy.com, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/roanoke/name/ursula-kolmstetter-obituary?id=53995534, accessed September 19, 2025.

Dan Casey, "Physician was caretaker for people, trails," The Roanoke Times, March 28, 2019, p. 1-2, accessed online from NewsBank on September 22, 2025.

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Parent restrictions:
The collection is open for research, except Box 22 which contains restricted materials. Restricted folders are identified within the inventory. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for more information.
Parent terms of access:

Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

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