Walter Arthur Reeves

Walter Reeves passed away on June 30 at the age of 87, somewhat short of his goal of 100 years. Walter was an unrelenting optimist - living each day like he was on a path to fortune and fame. He was very much a people person and made friends wherever he went. He went many places in his short 87 years, visiting most of the 50 states and several countries in the far east. He had a great interest in new and innovative technologies being an early adopter of instant photography, digital calculators, spy cameras, GPS, flat screen TVs, and other ground-breaking innovations. While some of his pursuits, like the hydrogen generator for internal combustion engines, and various free energy devices turned out not to work in a way that proved to be useful, he was not discouraged. It was the pursuit of a great idea that kept him going, and he always had a fantastic time doing it Walter was the youngest son of 11, born in the tiny town of Boggy Depot, Oklahoma. Raised in the small town of Valiant, Oklahoma. He headed off to college after graduating high school at 16, but ended up dropping out to join the Marine Corps at just 17 years old. He was a mustang, starting out as a private and ending up as a captain, and he accomplished this by being amazing. In his early enlisted career he was assigned to do surveying in the Philippines. His first involvement in the Vietnam War was in the early 60's working for Marine Corp intelligence as a photo interpreter, where he received a commendation for his excellent work. Next he moved on to computer programming where he developed a program to track tanks using field sensors in a way that had previously thought to have not been possible, for this he received yet another commendation. In the final phase of his Marine Corps career, he worked as a security office. As the security officer on the USS Blue Ridge, the command ship for the Seventh Fleet, he was present for the final days of the Vietnam War - the evacuation of Saigon, when helicopters full of evacuees, had to be scuttled from the deck of the ship to make room for more helicopters, because they didn't have enough fuel to take off. In one of his several times stationed at Camp Pendleton, he and a couple of friends came upon a car wreck that was completely in flames. Without hesitation, they reached into the fire multiple times and pulled the three occupants out just before the fire progressed to an explosion. For his heroism, he was awarded the Navy Marine Corps Medal, the Navy’s highest non-combat decoration. Walter retired after 20 years in the US Marines at the age of just 37. Walter was justifiably proud of his military career and loved to tell stories about his accomplishments. If over the years, these tales acquired various embellishments, eventually attaining near legendary proportions, we can scare complain, as this only added to the entertainment value for his rapt listeners. Retiring from the military in Arkansas in 1976, Walter decided to complete the college education that he had started 20 years before, eventually graduating with a degree in Horticulture from the University of Arkansas. Despite his degree, he embarked on a course that would lead him into a new career path in retail management. He found himself employed by Walmart, and intent on facilitating them in their westward expansion through the United States, helping them to open new stores in Texas and New Mexico. In the late 80's he then moved to Western Washington, to join his son Barry, and daughter Lori who had moved there. He continued to work in retail management through this period, though he changed jobs regularly. In the early 90's he pulled up stakes again, this time moving to Florida to help care for his mother-in-law Mabel Newhall. In Florida he found his final and perhaps greatest career. Settling down in the city of Orlando, Walter found himself working at Walt Disney World. There he spent 15 wonderful years. Most of these as a host of Spaceship Earth in EPCOT Center. There he could meet hundreds or even thousands of people each day, for a man who loved people that way he did, this could well have been the ideal job. And there is no doubt that he took every opportunity to brighten the day for every visitor he encountered, greeting them with a warm smile, and conversing congenially with anyone so inclined. In a place that is known as the "Happiest place on earth" Walter Reeves, managed to increase the happiness quotient for thousands of visitors in his 15 years there, and for that, the world is a better place. Early in his military career, he met a lovely young Navy woman named Pauline. According to Walter, she set her eyes on him at the USO and decided she had to have him. He resisted her charms for an arduous six weeks before he surrendered and married her, after proposing to her at the most romantic location a marine could ever imagine – the Iwo Jima memorial. They were married for 67 years, and he insisted right up to his last breath that she was the most beautiful woman he ever saw and still called her sweetheart. Walter is survived by his wife and four of his five children, and he would tell you that each one is the most accomplished, intelligent and beautiful kid to walk the planet, and has nine, even more incredible grandchildren. His greatest joy was to spend time with them, taking them to Disney World, getting them to fix his plumbing or paint the house, or convincing them to spend their Christmas break building him a new fence. They adored him in return. Walter grieved the loss of his son Eric Reeves who predeceased him. Walter will be deeply missed (but often talked about) by his wife Pauline Reeves, his son Barry Reeves and wife Chalao, his daughter Lori Reeves and husband Dan Watts, his daughter Tatiana Reeves, his daughter Mary Paul and wife Claudia, his grandchildren Ben, Joey, Olivia, Sophia, Elanor, Ian, Alida, Trinity and Theoden; his brother Eugene Reeves, sister Loretta Haney, sister Edna Rader, and numerous other family and friends. JM/NM

Walter Arthur Reeves

October 11, 1938 - June 30, 2026