Richard Dale Walters
Richard Dale (Dick) Walters, a sixty-year resident of Pierce Township, passed away on the evening of May 1, at the Hospice of Cincinnati on Beechmont Avenue.
Born on July 4, 1936, in Jacksontown, Ohio, Dick spent his boyhood there and in the nearby villages of Alexandria and Hebron, Ohio. His parents, Floyd and Mabel (Lamp) Walters, divorced when Dick was only eight years old, and his early years were marked by frequent moves and instability. Nevertheless, by the time he reached his high school years, he had acquired a support system of teachers, coaches, Boy Scout leaders, and parents of his friends, as well as his own extended family. At tiny Alexandria High, he played basketball and was the quarterback of the six-man football team. After graduating in 1954, he enrolled at Wilmington College as a result of his high school principal making him aware of the work-study program there.
Dick paid his own way through college by working as what he jokingly referred to as a “Randall Scholar”. Randall Corporation, a manufacturer of automotive paint products, employed Wilmington students who were without financial means to work on nights and weekends so that they could attend classes during the day. It was tough, dirty, and sometimes dangerous work, and Dick quickly realized that he much preferred classrooms and school environments to factory employment. He worked extremely hard at both though, and graduated from Wilmington in the usual time frame of four years. It was also there at Wilmington College where he met and began dating Nancy Maddux.
Dick spent the 1958-59 school year as a teacher and varsity football coach at Frazeysburg High School. His romance with Nancy continued, leading him to propose to her during this time. By the next school year, he had been hired as a teacher and basketball coach at Nancy’s alma mater, Anderson High School.
Dick and Nancy were married in August of 1960. In 1963 they purchased their home in Pierce Township where they would raise a family and reside for over 60 years.
Dick continued his career at Anderson through the 1960’s. During this period he also attended Miami University and earned his Masters Degree. Afterwards, he moved on from teaching and coaching and became a guidance counselor.
After the 60’s became the 70’s, Dick was invited to join a new educational venture, the Great Oaks Joint Vocational School District. The district was not much more than an old Air Force base and a dream when he was hired on. He relished the opportunity to participate in the planning for the building and operations of 4 new schools. After construction was completed, he served as Supervisor of Student Services at Live Oaks in Milford and later served in the same position at Diamond Oaks in Dent, Ohio.
Dick was more than a guidance counselor at this point. A large part of his job was visiting area high schools to present to 10th graders the opportunities that vocational education could provide them. He was a true believer in the product he was pitching, and his enthusiasm led many students to enroll in the many and various programs that Great Oaks had to offer. He impacted a great many lives in this position, and he considered these years, especially the early ones at Live Oaks, to be his most satisfying professional experience.
After retiring from public education in 1989, Dick continued in other positions that provided opportunities for others to improve their lives. At the Clermont County Literacy Council, he recruited tutors and matched them with adults who struggled with reading. Later he took another position where he helped implement the “Job Training Partnership Act”, (JTPA) a law which focused on the use of federal funding to implement, manage and coordinate a variety of employment-related services that helped disadvantaged individuals. From there he moved on to UC/Clermont College’s Educational Talent Search Program where he helped bright intelligent young people overcome economic disadvantages and begin the process of improving their lives through education.
Being the son of a carpenter, Dick had an appreciation for woodworking and for the tools of that trade. The last job he took was a part-time position at the old Sears Hardware Store on Beechmont Avenue. At this time he began a collection of vintage wood planes, hammers, pliers, and saws which he continued to catalog and display as he began a second retirement.
What followed were happy years of traveling and taking Crosswell Bus Tours with Nancy, attending ball games and music performances in support of their six grandchildren, as well as enjoying the company of his beloved dogs as he watched his Reds, Bengals, and Bearcats from the comfort of the home that he loved.
Dick was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2012, and though the condition progressively slowed him down, he refused to be defeated by it. He acquired an exercise bicycle and rode it diligently in an effort to improve his balance, he researched the disease and read articles, consulted with the best neurological doctors in the area, and followed their recommendations for medications and exercise therapy. During an especially bad episode when others might have wallowed in self-pity, he came up with the plan to install chair lifts, a ramp, and a handicap-accessible bathtub. Most of all, he maintained a positive attitude and an appreciation for life. As he slowly became more and more dependent on his sons, his son-in-law, and especially Nancy for his mobility, transportation, and care, he was also increasingly grateful for his family’s love and devotion to him.
Though the final weeks were an agonizing blur of ambulance rides, hospital stays, and feeding tubes. He seldom complained and never hinted that he had given up hope.
He was, at the end, as he always was, present in the moment and caring towards those he loved.
Richard Dale “Dick Walters is survived by Nancy Maddux Walters, his wife of nearly 64 years, his sons Thomas (Jean) Walters and Christopher (Kasey) Walters, daughter Ellen (Joe) Beavers, and six devoted grandchildren, Cailan and Cara Walters, Mark (Monica) and John Walters, and Curtis and Amanda Beavers.
Funeral service will be held at T.P. White & Sons Funeral Home, 2050 Beechmont Ave., Mt. Washington, on Wednesday, May 8th at 1:30 pm. Friends may visit at the funeral home on Wednesday from 12 to 1:30 pm. If desired, memorials may be directed to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163-4777 https://give.michaeljfox.org/give/421686/#!/donation/checkout or the Mid-Western Children's Home, 4585 Long Spurling Rd, Pleasant Plane, OH 45162 https://www.mid-western.org/support , or the League for Animal Welfare, 4193 Taylor Rd., Batavia, OH 45103 https://www.lfaw.org/
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Richard Dale (Dick) Walters, a sixty-year resident of Pierce Township, passed away on the evening of May 1, at the Hospice of Cincinnati on Beechmont Avenue.
Born on July 4, 1936, in Jacksontown, Ohio, Dick spent his boyhood there and in the nearby villages of Alexandria and Hebron, Ohio. His parents, Floyd and Mabel (Lamp) Walters, divorced when Dick was only eight years old, and his early years were marked by frequent moves and instability. Nevertheless, by the time he reached his high school years, he had acquired a support system of teachers, coaches, Boy Scout leaders, and parents of his friends, as well as his own extended family. At tiny Alexandria High, he played basketball and was the quarterback of the six-man football team. After graduating in 1954, he enrolled at Wilmington College as a result of his high school principal making him aware of the work-study program there.
Dick paid his own way through college by working as what he jokingly referred to as a “Randall Scholar”. Randall Corporation, a manufacturer of automotive paint products, employed Wilmington students who were without financial means to work on nights and weekends so that they could attend classes during the day. It was tough, dirty, and sometimes dangerous work, and Dick quickly realized that he much preferred classrooms and school environments to factory employment. He worked extremely hard at both though, and graduated from Wilmington in the usual time frame of four years. It was also there at Wilmington College where he met and began dating Nancy Maddux.
Dick spent the 1958-59 school year as a teacher and varsity football coach at Frazeysburg High School. His romance with Nancy continued, leading him to propose to her during this time. By the next school year, he had been hired as a teacher and basketball coach at Nancy’s alma mater, Anderson High School.
Dick and Nancy were married in August of 1960. In 1963 they purchased their home in Pierce Township where they would raise a family and reside for over 60 years.
Dick continued his career at Anderson through the 1960’s. During this period he also attended Miami University and earned his Masters Degree. Afterwards, he moved on from teaching and coaching and became a guidance counselor.
After the 60’s became the 70’s, Dick was invited to join a new educational venture, the Great Oaks Joint Vocational School District. The district was not much more than an old Air Force base and a dream when he was hired on. He relished the opportunity to participate in the planning for the building and operations of 4 new schools. After construction was completed, he served as Supervisor of Student Services at Live Oaks in Milford and later served in the same position at Diamond Oaks in Dent, Ohio.
Dick was more than a guidance counselor at this point. A large part of his job was visiting area high schools to present to 10th graders the opportunities that vocational education could provide them. He was a true believer in the product he was pitching, and his enthusiasm led many students to enroll in the many and various programs that Great Oaks had to offer. He impacted a great many lives in this position, and he considered these years, especially the early ones at Live Oaks, to be his most satisfying professional experience.
After retiring from public education in 1989, Dick continued in other positions that provided opportunities for others to improve their lives. At the Clermont County Literacy Council, he recruited tutors and matched them with adults who struggled with reading. Later he took another position where he helped implement the “Job Training Partnership Act”, (JTPA) a law which focused on the use of federal funding to implement, manage and coordinate a variety of employment-related services that helped disadvantaged individuals. From there he moved on to UC/Clermont College’s Educational Talent Search Program where he helped bright intelligent young people overcome economic disadvantages and begin the process of improving their lives through education.
Being the son of a carpenter, Dick had an appreciation for woodworking and for the tools of that trade. The last job he took was a part-time position at the old Sears Hardware Store on Beechmont Avenue. At this time he began a collection of vintage wood planes, hammers, pliers, and saws which he continued to catalog and display as he began a second retirement.
What followed were happy years of traveling and taking Crosswell Bus Tours with Nancy, attending ball games and music performances in support of their six grandchildren, as well as enjoying the company of his beloved dogs as he watched his Reds, Bengals, and Bearcats from the comfort of the home that he loved.
Dick was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2012, and though the condition progressively slowed him down, he refused to be defeated by it. He acquired an exercise bicycle and rode it diligently in an effort to improve his balance, he researched the disease and read articles, consulted with the best neurological doctors in the area, and followed their recommendations for medications and exercise therapy. During an especially bad episode when others might have wallowed in self-pity, he came up with the plan to install chair lifts, a ramp, and a handicap-accessible bathtub. Most of all, he maintained a positive attitude and an appreciation for life. As he slowly became more and more dependent on his sons, his son-in-law, and especially Nancy for his mobility, transportation, and care, he was also increasingly grateful for his family’s love and devotion to him.
Though the final weeks were an agonizing blur of ambulance rides, hospital stays, and feeding tubes. He seldom complained and never hinted that he had given up hope.
He was, at the end, as he always was, present in the moment and caring towards those he loved.
Richard Dale “Dick Walters is survived by Nancy Maddux Walters, his wife of nearly 64 years, his sons Thomas (Jean) Walters and Christopher (Kasey) Walters, daughter Ellen (Joe) Beavers, and six devoted grandchildren, Cailan and Cara Walters, Mark (Monica) and John Walters, and Curtis and Amanda Beavers.
Funeral service will be held at T.P. White & Sons Funeral Home, 2050 Beechmont Ave., Mt. Washington, on Wednesday, May 8th at 1:30 pm. Friends may visit at the funeral home on Wednesday from 12 to 1:30 pm. If desired, memorials may be directed to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163-4777 https://give.michaeljfox.org/give/421686/#!/donation/checkout or the Mid-Western Children's Home, 4585 Long Spurling Rd, Pleasant Plane, OH 45162 https://www.mid-western.org/support , or the League for Animal Welfare, 4193 Taylor Rd., Batavia, OH 45103 https://www.lfaw.org/
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