Godspeed Walter. Semper Fidelis!
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Godspeed Walter. Semper Fidelis!
#1Got a text tonight as we were sitting down to dinner. My good buddy Walt Parks has just passed. Walter had showed me the San Juan River back in the late 80s and we fished it hard for the next decade or so, and in all the seasons. His infant son Wesley had just then developed an optic glioma that was being treated at the Children's Hospital here in Denver, so Walt and his family stayed with us in Denver when Wesley was being treated. They then opened their home to my wife and I in Durango when we needed a break from work and the big city. Walt was a Vietnam era Marine Corps helicopter pilot (a CH 53 jock!) and an oil & gas landman. He loved the US Marine Corps, the La Plata Mountains, Dewar's Scotch, and catching big rainbows on the Juan. He hunted elk with a big Hawken .50 black-powder rifle. We'd grill elk and drink strong drinks and prep our fly-boxes for the next day's events. Walt's father was a well-known physician in Midland, Texas (who had happened to have been a WWII German POW and had also delivered many of George & Barbara Bush's children). Walt and Linda lost Wesley just a few years after our own son was born, but Wes lived long enough to graduate from highschool. Walt had been exposed to several doses of Agent Orange during his time in Southeast Asia and had suffered from every known cancer associated with that very toxic defoliant. Walter served his country honorably, raised his family, suffered inconsolable losses (and terrible health issues) and never, ever complained. He was a fine pilot, a consumate landman with a spectacular professional resume (& a wicked [& very dry] sense of humor), a damn fine fly-fisherman, and a very good friend. This, for me, is the hardest part of growing older. I'm sure getting tired of these millitary funerals...
Last edited by lloyd3 on 08/08/22 08:20, edited 1 time in total.
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- Bamboo Fanatic
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Re: Godspeed Walter. Semper Fidelis!
#2Condolences, he sounds like a fine person, I'm sure he will be missed.
Re: Godspeed Walter. Semper Fidelis!
#4A beautiful eulogy to a man who leaves his footprints on the banks of great rivers and in the hearts of many of his friends and family. You have lost a great friend and we have all lost someone who fought for our freedoms when called upon.
Re: Godspeed Walter. Semper Fidelis!
#5To be spoken of fondly by a friend is a high achievement in this life. I am sorry your friend has moved on.
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Re: Godspeed Walter. Semper Fidelis!
#7Semper Fi, Marine!
Condolences to this gentleman's family and friends.
Very respectfully,
Tim
Condolences to this gentleman's family and friends.
Very respectfully,
Tim