March 29, 2024

Dick Walter - Lenox

Celebration of Life Funeral Services for Dick Walter, age 86, of Lenox, who went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, July 14, 2015 at his home in Lenox will be held Saturday, July 18, 2015 at 10:30 AM at the Lenox Christian Church. Visitation will be held at the Ritchie Funeral Home in Lenox on Friday, July 17, 2015 from 3 to 5 PM with the family greeting friends from 5 to 7 PM. Interment will be held at West Fairview Cemetery in Lenox. Memorials may be given in Dick's name. Memories can be shared with the family at www.ritchiefuneralhome.com under Obituaries. Arrangements were entrusted to the Ritchie Funeral Home of Lenox.

Richard Leland (“Dick”) Walter, the son of Orval and Dorothy (Wynn) Walter was born in Lenox, Iowa on November 3, 1928. Dick attended 1st through 12th grades at the Lenox Public School. He was raised and baptized in the Lenox Christian Church where he gave his heart to the Lord.

During his childhood, Dick developed a love for reading, music, sports and farming. He became an avid reader inheriting this gift from his Grandmother Belle Walter. Throughout his lifetime, he spent many hours reading history books, or an encyclopedia, and studying the Bible. As a young boy, he rode his bike to deliver the Des Moines Evening Tribune and Sunday paper and worked at his Dad’s Conoco Station. He also worked on his Dad’s farm and other farms in the area, helping in the hay fields, stripping blue grass, walking the bean fields, detasseling corn, or whatever he could do. That was where he developed his love of farming. Dick was active in all sports during his High School years. He was also active in music activities, in band, vocal, on the piano and the school plays.

After Dick graduated from Lenox High School in 1946, he earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in 1950 from Iowa State University, with a major in Agriculture Economics and minors in Agronomy, History and Government. While attending ISU, he was awarded for his work on “The Iowa Agriculturist” and was also selected to be a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity, chosen for outstanding work in music and leadership.

Dick married his high school sweetheart, Mildred Marie Brown from Corning on August 13, 1950. They began their new life together in DeWitt, Iowa where Dick worked as an Underwriter for Iowa Mutual Insurance Company. He was promoted to Head Farm Underwriter and was responsible for all of the insurance underwritten in 6 Midwest states, with supervision of 4 underwriters.

Dick always wanted to farm, so they made the decision to move back to the Walter Family farm in 1953. He was a proud ‘steward of the land’ when it came to preserving the family farm, working countless hours from sunrise into the wee hours of the night. During this time, he was asked to set up and run a Soil Testing Lab for Lenox Fertilizer Corporation. In 1960, they moved to the Roy Long farm, adding acres to their farm production. Dick was nominated Outstanding Young Farmer in Taylor County in 1961. He served on the Taylor county ASC for six years, and Adams County ASC for four years. Dick was chairman of the Taylor County Extension Council that directed the Cooperative Extension Program for Taylor County. He also served on the Iowa State University Advisory Council in Ames for four years. Dick was in charge of handling the weight scales for both Lenox and Leon Livestock Auctions, and was an order buyer of stock cattle for several southern Iowa auctions and cattle feeders.

In 1975, Dick and Mildred sold their farm and Dick was hired as an Ag Loan Officer with First National Bank in Lenox, later becoming Vice President. In 1985, he accepted a position with the Community Bank of Wickenburg, Arizona where he served as Vice President.

After retiring in 1992, Dick and Mildred moved to Dover, Arkansas where they lived in a scenic countryside, surrounded by beautiful mountains and on the edge of the Ozark National Forest. Dick was happy spending the next nineteen years in a country setting. He spent hours planting gardens and beautiful flower beds, pruning fruit trees, chopping firewood, and mowing their acreage. Dick also enjoyed helping all of his family with their various home remodeling projects. In 2011, Dick and Mildred made their final move back to Lenox where they had first begun their life together.

In life and in death, Dick was a man of great determination with quiet strength, practical love, and a peaceful heart. He was a man devoted to the Lord. He was an active member of the Lenox Christian Church where he served as a Deacon, Elder, and Treasurer. He also taught Sunday School Classes, led Bible Study Classes, and gave messages in both the Lenox and the Corning Christian Churches. In Wickenburg, Arizona, he served as an elder in the First Presbyterian Church. After moving to Arkansas, Dick was an active member of the Dover First Baptist Church. No matter where his faith journey took him, it was important for him to worship and serve his Lord and Savior.

Dick and Mildred were blessed with three daughters and three sons. Dick had an unconditional love for his family and tried to be an example to them of how necessary it is to become educated or trained in a field of their choice, and to always work hard to achieve this goal. His love and devotion for his children extended on down to each grandchild and great-grandchild who all brought him much enjoyment. When each one became old enough to climb, they would crawl up onto his lap and play with the pen that was always in his pocket. He knew that “home” is the place where character is built and where sacrifice contributes to the foundation of strength. Dick gave his family a part of who he was and a part of who we will become ... his love, wisdom and example will shape the lives of his family for a life-time. One of his favorite Bible verses is from Joshua 24:15 ... “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Left to cherish the memory of a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather is his loving wife of 64 years, Mildred Walter; his six children: Susan Lynn Leach (husband J.R.) of Edmond, OK; Jeanne Kaye Masters (husband Jerry) of Dover, AR; Janis Lee Christensen (husband Tom) of Lenox, IA; Orval “David” Walter of Wickenburg, AZ; Mark Richard Walter (wife Juliann) of Fort Dodge, IA; and John William Walter (wife Jane) of Tarkio, MO; fourteen grandchildren; and twenty-three great-grandchildren; one sister, Mary Jo Hall of Sunrise Beach, MO; one brother-in-law, Marlin Brown (wife Burdean) of Corning, IA; and many other relatives and friends.

Preceding Dick in death were his parents, Orval and Dorothy (Wynn) Walter; a brother-in-law, Philip Hall; and a nephew, Stephan Hall.

Dick will be dearly missed by his wife and family,
but they have the blessed assurance that he has already heard those words:
"well done, thy good and faithful servant."
There is "Victory in Jesus" for Dick and he has received that final
"Peace that passeth all understanding."