Walter Bauer, 89, of Raleigh, passed away on March 14, 2019. He was born February 17, 1930 in Bad Kreunach, Germany and came to America in 1956. He worked his way through college at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. and graduated in 1965 from University of South Florida, Tampa, Fla. After early jobs through the 1950’s and early 1960’s in data processing as a computer operator and programmer, he joined IBM upon graduation. Walter followed his job with IBM to Atlanta, San Jose, Boca Raton, and Raleigh. He retired from IBM as a programmer after a career of over 30 years. He married Elizabeth LaVerne Sykes of Durham in 1964, when they were both working at the University of South Florida.
Walker loved to travel and in his retirement years spent time in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Central America. He was a serious reader of history and politics and was a strong believer in the power of education to change lives. In 2008, he and his wife established a scholarship based on financial need and academic merit at the Bryan School of Business and Economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
He is survived by his wife of over 50 years, Elizabeth LaVerne, his brother, Kurt Bauer of Santa Rosa, CA and his nieces and nephews in CA, NC, MN, MA and Germany. He is preceded in death by his father, Heinrich Bauer, his mother, Ottilie Kauz Bauer, and his sister Hannelore Schraut and her husband Valentin, all of Bad Kreuznack, Germany.
A graveside service will be Sunday, March 17 at 3:00pm at Raleigh Memorial Park, 7501 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh.
The family requests that any memorial donations go to the Elizabeth LaVerne Sykes and Walter Bauer Scholarship Fund, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Advancement Services, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402 or to a charity of your choice.
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