Willmar Karl Sick, a co-owner of Carl’s Intercoiffure who was a master hair colorist to an elite clientele, died March 16 at Symphony Manor in Roland Park. He was 96 and had lived in Towson and Monkton.

His daughter, Anna Sick-Samuels, said he died in his sleep.

Born in Langenau, Germany, he was the son of Christian Sick, a World War I veteran who died when Willmar was a child. His father had been a friseurmeister, or hairdresser, and the family owned and operated a salon. His mother, Anna Regina Babette Sick, raised him alongside a brother and two sisters.

Mr. Silk attended a high school, or gymnasium in Ulm, Germany, but his education was interrupted by World War II. He was sent to train as a pilot in a military youth camp but the conflict ended before he saw active duty. He then worked in a camp cleaning up the war’s destruction and never completed his last year of school.

He later returned home and attended a trade school to become a friseurmeister. He did apprenticeships in Munich and later Paris, where he styled hair for the fashion industry.

In 1958, Mr. Sick settled in Baltimore after receiving an invitation from the Swiss-born friseurmeister Carl Griesser to work at his salon, Carl’s Intercoiffure, a beauty shop located among fashionable Charles Street dress shops in Mount Vernon. By 1959, Mr. Sick and his lifelong colleague, Howard Fong, became the owners. They moved the business to a then-new shopping center, the Village of Cross Keys. Both men retired in 2013.

A 2004 article in The Baltimore Sun said Mr. Sick enjoyed doing “repair” jobs. “I like those the best,” he said.

“And he’s seen it all. ‘Every [example] has been here: too black, too over-streaked, too green.’ Knowing how to tackle challenges takes forethought, says Sick … ‘Like any artist, whatever you do, think it through first,’” the Sun’s account said.

“Willmar trained so many others in his field,” said Cathy Baggett, a business partner and manager. “We thought we were the premier hair salon in Baltimore. His knowledge of colorings and technique brought clients. He could be stubborn, but he was always a gentleman and was a private person.”

Asked about his competition, Ms. Baggett said, “Willmar trained them.”

“His shop was a who’s who of Baltimore,” said his stepson, Paul Matino. “You’d see the governor’s wife one day and then the wives of the Baltimore Orioles.”

“My father pushed the field. He took chemistry courses to create new hair dyes and patented hairstyling tools he engineered,” said his daughter, Anna.

Mr. Sick trained giant schnauzers at his Monkton home, where he also grew fruits and vegetables and kept the place tidy with a Ford tractor. He was a glider pilot and member of the Soaring Society of America. He was also a chess master and competed with friends in Towson.

He owned a series of Porsche autos and traveled to the Southwest and Canada to pursue a fascination with Native American culture.

Mr. Sick met his future wife, Jenny Pavlov, a physician, who was one of his clients. They married in 1986.

Survivors include his daughter, Anna Sick-Samuels, of Towson; a stepson, Paul Matino, of Towson; and four grandchildren. His wife died in 1998.

Services were held Sunday at the Ruck Towson Funeral Home.

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