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February 10, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, February 12, 2018 from 4-8 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, February 13 at 9:00 AM from the funeral home, then to Our Lady of Consolation Church, 1799 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne, where at 10:00 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Entombment will follow in Holy Sepulchre Mausoleum, Totowa.
Kenneth E. Walter, age 89, of Lincoln Park and formerly of North Caldwell and Wayne, passed away on Saturday, February 10, 2018.
The youngest of three children, Ken was born in Hackensack and raised in Wallington.
After high school graduation from East Rutherford High School in 1946, Ken wanted to become a partner in his father’s plumbing business – Lou Walter Inc., Plumbing. Because his father would not just let him step into that role, Ken chose a different path for his future and enlisted in the U.S. National Guard. He served honorably and faithfully from 1946 to 1954, including reserve duty, attaining the rank of sergeant in the 165th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 50th Armored Division and the 215th Armored Infantry Battalion while earning his certification as a wheel and track vehicle mechanic.
In 1949, while serving in the National Guard, Ken married his high school girlfriend, Doris Holzapfel. He also became a father three times welcoming two sons, Ken, Jr. and Robert, and a daughter Denise. He eventually did go to work for his father in the family plumbing business and, when his own two boys were old enough, he formed his own company – K. Walter Inc., Plumbing and Heating in Little Falls, retiring in 1996.
After divorce, Ken found love again. Her name was Jo Ann Cofrancesco and it was a volleyball injury that caused their paths to cross as Ken ended up in the hospital and Jo Ann turned out to be his caregiver. About two years later Ken ran into Jo Ann again while shopping at Macy’s Department Store. They had lunch together and eventually fell in love before joining their hearts in marriage. They had the mutual pleasure of traveling to West Europe, taking many trips to the Caribbean, and they especially enjoyed having their children and grandchildren visit to their condo in Naples, Fl. Their grandchildren meant the world to both Ken and JoAnn and they loved watching them grow, attending all of their sporting events and plays. Ken and Jo Ann very-much loved and supported each other and were thankful for every day together until Jo Ann’s passing in April, 2013.
In times of leisure Ken also enjoyed rooting for the New York Giants and New Jersey Devils. When he was younger, he took great interest in raising his sons, serving as a Boy Scout leader in North Caldwell Troop 1 and taking them pheasant hunting and also fresh-water fishing on trips to Canada and Alaska. Ken also had a heart for service and was a long-time volunteer with the West Essex Lions Club where he was a past-president, and later, when moving to Wayne, with the Wayne Lions Club. Ken’s faith in God was one of the most important aspects of his life and for many years he was also a faithful parishioner of Our Lady of Consolation Church in Wayne.
Ken was the beloved husband of Jo Ann (nee Cofrancesco) who passed away in 2013; dear father of: Kenneth Walter, Jr. and his wife Deborah, Robert Walter and his partner Kristina, Denise Mara and her husband John, and Jaclyn Braddock and husband Thomas; daughter-in-law Donna Walter; cherished grandfather of: Tyler and Matthew Braddock, Kenneth Walter, III, Kristin Hernandez, Danielle Bush, Rhonda Lysiak, Lauren Chaput, Courtney Billings, John Mara, Jr., Christine Ward, and Erin Brooks; and 18 great-grandchildren. Ken was also predeceased by his brother Louis Walter and sister Helen McNiff.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Ken’s name are asked to consider St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959 (www.stjude.org).
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, February 12, 2018 from 4-8 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, February 13 at 9:00 AM from the funeral home, then to Our Lady of Consolation Church, 1799 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne, where at 10:00 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Entombment will follow in Holy Sepulchre Mausoleum, Totowa.
February 10, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, February 12, 2018 from 4-8 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, February 13 at 9:00 AM from the funeral home, then to Our Lady of Consolation Church, 1799 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne, where at 10:00 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Entombment will follow in Holy Sepulchre Mausoleum, Totowa.
Kenneth E. Walter, age 89, of Lincoln Park and formerly of North Caldwell and Wayne, passed away on Saturday, February 10, 2018.
The youngest of three children, Ken was born in Hackensack and raised in Wallington.
After high school graduation from East Rutherford High School in 1946, Ken wanted to become a partner in his father’s plumbing business – Lou Walter Inc., Plumbing. Because his father would not just let him step into that role, Ken chose a different path for his future and enlisted in the U.S. National Guard. He served honorably and faithfully from 1946 to 1954, including reserve duty, attaining the rank of sergeant in the 165th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 50th Armored Division and the 215th Armored Infantry Battalion while earning his certification as a wheel and track vehicle mechanic.
In 1949, while serving in the National Guard, Ken married his high school girlfriend, Doris Holzapfel. He also became a father three times welcoming two sons, Ken, Jr. and Robert, and a daughter Denise. He eventually did go to work for his father in the family plumbing business and, when his own two boys were old enough, he formed his own company – K. Walter Inc., Plumbing and Heating in Little Falls, retiring in 1996.
After divorce, Ken found love again. Her name was Jo Ann Cofrancesco and it was a volleyball injury that caused their paths to cross as Ken ended up in the hospital and Jo Ann turned out to be his caregiver. About two years later Ken ran into Jo Ann again while shopping at Macy’s Department Store. They had lunch together and eventually fell in love before joining their hearts in marriage. They had the mutual pleasure of traveling to West Europe, taking many trips to the Caribbean, and they especially enjoyed having their children and grandchildren visit to their condo in Naples, Fl. Their grandchildren meant the world to both Ken and JoAnn and they loved watching them grow, attending all of their sporting events and plays. Ken and Jo Ann very-much loved and supported each other and were thankful for every day together until Jo Ann’s passing in April, 2013.
In times of leisure Ken also enjoyed rooting for the New York Giants and New Jersey Devils. When he was younger, he took great interest in raising his sons, serving as a Boy Scout leader in North Caldwell Troop 1 and taking them pheasant hunting and also fresh-water fishing on trips to Canada and Alaska. Ken also had a heart for service and was a long-time volunteer with the West Essex Lions Club where he was a past-president, and later, when moving to Wayne, with the Wayne Lions Club. Ken’s faith in God was one of the most important aspects of his life and for many years he was also a faithful parishioner of Our Lady of Consolation Church in Wayne.
Ken was the beloved husband of Jo Ann (nee Cofrancesco) who passed away in 2013; dear father of: Kenneth Walter, Jr. and his wife Deborah, Robert Walter and his partner Kristina, Denise Mara and her husband John, and Jaclyn Braddock and husband Thomas; daughter-in-law Donna Walter; cherished grandfather of: Tyler and Matthew Braddock, Kenneth Walter, III, Kristin Hernandez, Danielle Bush, Rhonda Lysiak, Lauren Chaput, Courtney Billings, John Mara, Jr., Christine Ward, and Erin Brooks; and 18 great-grandchildren. Ken was also predeceased by his brother Louis Walter and sister Helen McNiff.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Ken’s name are asked to consider St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959 (www.stjude.org).
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