Walter Gintz was a native of Illinois who later lived in Nacogdoches, Texas and attended Rice University and Oklahoma University. Gintz was later the owner of the Gintz Manufacturing Company, leaving that position to become a member of the SHSTC Industrial Arts Department. His wife, Virginia, owned a popular catering business in Huntsville. He died of leukemia in 1960.

The Gintz Apartment was named in his honor.