George Getze; Times Science Writer in 1960s, ‘70s

George Getze, 86, science writer for The Times in the late 1960s and 1970s. Getze wrote telling early stories about air pollution’s effects and possible solutions in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. He tackled scientific issues that were prominent in the 1970s, including Legionnaire’s disease, a type of flu that first surfaced during an American Legion convention in Philadelphia, and phenomena in astronomy. After growing up in Carlsbad, Calif., Getze attended UCLA and later taught in the New Orleans area. He wrote for The Times’ former sister paper, the Los Angeles Mirror and, after it folded in 1962, switched to The Times as science writer. He had been retired since 1976. On Sept. 29 in Red Bank, N.J.