MAJOR WALTER J. KLIMEK was born in 1923. He served in the US Marines during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He never liked to talk about the box full of medals he was awarded during his 28 years of service to his country. At 17, he joined the Navy and wound up in the Marines because he could type. He could also fly airplanes and was especially gifted at teaching others to fly. He graduated from flying open cockpit planes to jets. Born in 1923 in Cleveland, Ohio, he graduated from Lakewood High School. He married his high school sweetheart, Martha Nikel and they enjoyed 45 adventurous years together before her death. They were blessed with two sons, Alan and Carl; three grandchildren, Kelly, Kyle and Aaron; four great-grandchildren and some very special in-laws. His mother, Mary, and father, Adam, who immigrated to America from Slovakia and brothers, Albert and Edward, preceded him in death. In 1989, he married Rose Howell Booth Wallace and acquired additional family members: children, Roxanne, Rozanne and Ralph; grand-children, Shannon, Jr., Grayson, Allison, Ryan, and Jenna; 20 great-grandchildren and more special in-laws and a few “adopted kids” who lived in the basement at the Beaver Lake home while working on their educational goals. After his Marine Corps career, he and Martha retired in Memphis and built their dream home on Beaver Lake. He served as the Executive Director of Lutheran Social Services of Tennessee for 20 years and was a pioneer in building housing for the elderly in the Memphis area. After his second retirement, he and Rose were volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, Church Health Center and Immanuel Lutheran Church. You could find them digging up donated plants and bushes in the middle of the winter for the gardens he and Rose maintained as volunteers for many years. He was also responsible for overseeing the planting of the beautiful donated Oak trees on the Immanuel Lutheran School campus. He was a gifted woodworker and used his talent for many volunteer causes. He loved a good poker game and a good steak with a Heineken beer. He was a life member of the VFW, and served on many committees concerned with veterans rights. He was a lifelong Lutheran and a member at Immanuel Lutheran Church for almost 50 years where he served on many boards and committees. Almost every Sunday you could find him in his usual pew and close to the coffee pot and snack table between services. He was a graduate of Memphis State University and a certified Elderly Housing professional. He was noted for his wit and even the doctors, nurses, and other workers in the intensive care unit at Baptist East Hospital where he died could not resist his charming personality. He was a very special person to everyone who knew him especially his blended family who all loved him dearly and his best friend, his wife, Rose. The family will receive friends Wednesday, June 4 from 5-7 p.m. at Memphis Funeral Home Poplar Avenue. The funeral service will be at 11 a.m., Thursday, June 5 at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Burial will follow in Memphis National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to Immanuel Lutheran Church Mission Fund, the Church Health Center or the West Tennessee Veterans Home Building Fund. Online condolences may be expressed at www.memphisfuneralhome.net Memphis Funeral Home 5599 Poplar Ave. (901)725-0100
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