Walter and I were good friends during our last 3 years at Malverne. I remember spending time with him at our 25th reunion and during that weekend. He visited my wife and I some time after that when we lived in Annapolis, MD. Alan Viewig told me of his passing when we talked a couple of years ago. He was a talented dear friend and was great fun to be around
Walter and I "went steady" at 12 years old...sweet and very innocent. We were dancing partners since sixth grade dance classes and went on to win a prize on the Saturday evening Dick Clark show which was broadcast from New York. His mom and brothers were part of my extended family. I do miss him.
I remember Walter playing the organ for me after Sunday School classes - we were about 8 years old. He was so popular at parties playing folk music on his guitar. We did speak a few times when he lived in Florida, and I will always remember him with special thoughts.
Over the years, I saw Walter on and off. But in 1986, I was moving to Long Beach, CA and found Walter there. It was as if no time had passed. We flew back to NY to get my "stuff" and drove cross-country together. It was a great way to catch up on so many years. Walter was coming down off drugs and coming out of the closet, and he shared a lot of history and feelings with me. I felt very honored that Walter could be so honest with me, but then, Walter was always an honest guy. For two years in California, we spent a lot of time together and invested in some property together... but mostly, we laughed and laughed! When he was diagnosed HIV positive, we talked alot about it. I moved away in late 1988 and he came to visit, but he died shortly after. To the end, Walter was a generous, happy, and talented man.
This is my favorite picture of Walter Harris. It was taken in the lobby of the Ramada Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach, CA in 1987. Walter was working there as Convention Manager. He loved the lobby because it had that fabulous piano (in the background). He sometimes played it just for fun. I believe they used this picture on a corporate magazine cover.
Every memory of time spent with Walter makes me smile. In high school he would attend mass at Our Lady of Lourdes on holy days so he could join us for breakfast and arrive at school at 10am with a "legal" tardy excuse. He would often greet me with Dominus vobiscum and I wish that for Walter.
In later years we had a great time when Carol Woolsey Stewart and I visited Julie Bizzoso in CA. A day at The San Diego Zoo with Walter was more fun than a barrel full of monkeys.
Norman Everett
Walter and I were good friends during our last 3 years at Malverne. I remember spending time with him at our 25th reunion and during that weekend. He visited my wife and I some time after that when we lived in Annapolis, MD. Alan Viewig told me of his passing when we talked a couple of years ago. He was a talented dear friend and was great fun to be around
Norm Everett
Carole Ashkinaze (Kay)
So sad. Walter was the life of every party. He was a great dancer and one of the nicest people I knew.
Gloria Schwartz (Gordon)
Walter and I "went steady" at 12 years old...sweet and very innocent. We were dancing partners since sixth grade dance classes and went on to win a prize on the Saturday evening Dick Clark show which was broadcast from New York. His mom and brothers were part of my extended family. I do miss him.
Gloria
Susan Raff (Droga)
I remember Walter playing the organ for me after Sunday School classes - we were about 8 years old. He was so popular at parties playing folk music on his guitar. We did speak a few times when he lived in Florida, and I will always remember him with special thoughts.
Julie Bizzoso
Over the years, I saw Walter on and off. But in 1986, I was moving to Long Beach, CA and found Walter there. It was as if no time had passed. We flew back to NY to get my "stuff" and drove cross-country together. It was a great way to catch up on so many years. Walter was coming down off drugs and coming out of the closet, and he shared a lot of history and feelings with me. I felt very honored that Walter could be so honest with me, but then, Walter was always an honest guy. For two years in California, we spent a lot of time together and invested in some property together... but mostly, we laughed and laughed! When he was diagnosed HIV positive, we talked alot about it. I moved away in late 1988 and he came to visit, but he died shortly after. To the end, Walter was a generous, happy, and talented man.
This is my favorite picture of Walter Harris. It was taken in the lobby of the Ramada Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach, CA in 1987. Walter was working there as Convention Manager. He loved the lobby because it had that fabulous piano (in the background). He sometimes played it just for fun. I believe they used this picture on a corporate magazine cover.
Walter - Christmas - 1986
Dorothy Helgesen (Pfuhl)
Every memory of time spent with Walter makes me smile. In high school he would attend mass at Our Lady of Lourdes on holy days so he could join us for breakfast and arrive at school at 10am with a "legal" tardy excuse. He would often greet me with Dominus vobiscum and I wish that for Walter.
In later years we had a great time when Carol Woolsey Stewart and I visited Julie Bizzoso in CA. A day at The San Diego Zoo with Walter was more fun than a barrel full of monkeys.