Obituary: Frank, Walter Ernest, Jr.
Age 94
He passed away on August 10, 2013 at Hospice House in Spokane, WA .
He moved to Portland, OR then Hillsboro, OR.
In seventh grade he moved to Newberg, OR.
He was active in sports in high school, lettering in baseball, football, and basketball.
He worked in his father’s butcher shop and Larkin-Prince Hardware.
He met his future bride, Roberta Lewis, in eighth grade.
He graduated from Newberg Union High School in 1937.
In 1938 he attended Oregon State College and pledged Phi Sigma Kappa.
He left college to work for Union Oil Company.
After one and a half years he developed blood poisoning and left to join the U.S. Army for one year conscription.
During this time he reconnected with Roberta “Bobbe” and they were married on September 14, 1941.
WWII Pearl Harbor happened and the young couple decided to spend as much time as they could together while he waited to be “called up”.
In 1943, their first daughter, Constance “Connie”, was born.
Walter worked in the shipyard in Portland until he was drafted.
He served in Europe and spent six months in occupation army in Paris.
After the war, he went to work for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Portland.
His “tour of duty” with the company took him to Eugene, OR where his second daughter, Christy, was born.
The family moved to Akron, OH, San Leandro and Vallejo, CA, and Spokane, WA where his third daughter Cindy was born.
They continued on to Portland, OR, San Francisco, CA, and back to Spokane where he retired as District Manager.
He won a national company wide achievement award for spirit.
Additionally, he won several trips abroad resulting from company achievement awards.
This afforded the opportunity for him and Bobbe to tour parts of Europe.
His much loved hobbies included bird hunting, fly fishing, and golfing.
He was a member of Manito Golf and Country Club for forty years.
He enjoyed camping in the forest and going to the Oregon coast with his family.
He was active in his church, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, where he served as both Junior and Senior Warden.
After retirement, Walter spent a lot of time maintaining the church’s irrigation system.
He retired from Goodyear in 1981.
Walter is survived by his wife Roberta (Spokane), his daughters Connie Mason (Portland, OR), Christy Jimenez (Spokane), and Cindy Frank Bednark (Seattle); his six granddaughters Tiffany, Wendy, Keisha, Kendra, Chloe, and Isabella; and his six great grandchildren, Jake, Will, Axel, Malia, Ketziah, and Wyatt who all lovingly called him “Pop”.
Walter’s funeral service will be held Friday, August 16th at 10:00 a.m. at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 5720 S. Perry St., Spokane, WA 99223.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church or Hospice House.
Walter will be deeply missed by everyone who knew him.
Please visit Walter’s memorial website at www.hazenjaeger.net to offer condolences and tributes to the family.