Festus Walter Sr.

Festus Jimmy Walter Sr was born at home in Westlake, Oregon to Festus Conklin Walter and Cora Walter on September.7, 1942.  He was raised in the empire area with his parents, younger brother and older sister. 

Growing up, He and his brother were inseparable and industrious as kids. They dug up clams and picked berries and sold them to buy an 8ft wooden boat they could use in the bay. They enjoyed taxidermy so they got a book with instructions on how to do it and stuffed their own duck.  They spent their time fishing, clamming, shooting ducks and spending time with their neighbor friend Larry Barnes.

He graduated from Marshfield High School in 1960 and then joined the Navy to see the world. Instead, he was stationed in Japan for 3 years. He was a radioman which he enjoyed.

When he came home from the service he started working at Georgia Pacific in Coquille. After his dad passed away, he spent a lot of his time with his mom who loved to fish and hunt.

His Mom talked him into buying 10 acres just down the road from her in 1965. He then met his wife Ruby and they married in 1968. Ruby had a son, Audie Staten and they had 2 kids, Linda Walter Eickhoff and Festus Jimmy Jr.  Every year he took his family on a 2-week vacation going to Yellowstone and camping trips which included fishing.  He also enjoyed visiting his sister every year on Thanksgiving before she passed away.

When the mill shut down, he went to SWOCC and received his Associates degree in Forestry and minored in Criminology with high honors.  During the summers of going to school, he worked at Diamond Lake and Bullards State Park.

After he received his degree, he started working at the Coos County Courthouse as a Cartographer Aide. He worked there for 11 years and then retired.

He enjoyed his retirement as the pastor of Victory Tabernacle Church in Coquille, fishing, hunting, clamming, shooting guns, and making apple sauce and blackberry jelly.  He enjoyed his chickens and sheep which kept him happy and busy.

Then when his grandkids came along, they were his pride and joy.  He would teach them how to fish, clam, make blackberry jelly and to pluck chickens. One special Easter morning, he had the pleasure of playing his trumpet while his granddaughter played her trombone.

He passed away on a family vacation after seeing Yellowstone for the last time.

Everyone who knew him enjoyed his laugh, his gentle soul, his simple preaching of the Word of God, and his integrity and his honesty.  He was a stable rock for his family.  He was always concerned about their safety. 

He was preceded in death by his Dad Festus Conklin Walter, his Mom Cora Walter, his Sister Ruth Snodgrass, his brother David Walter, and his Step-son Audie Staten.

His survivors are his wife Ruby Walter, his daughter Linda Walter Eickhoff, his granddaughter Rachel Eickhoff, his grandson Tyler Eickhoff, his Son Festus Jimmy Walter Jr, his step-grandson Gary BoncƵek, his granddaughter Damara Walter, his granddaughter Marissa Walter Kalmback, and his 2 great-grandsons Richard and Arlis Kalmback.

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