David James Walter passed away peacefully in Sunday April 16, 2017 in Tempe, Arizona. He lived an amazing life full of adventures and travels. He visited 81 countries and all 50 states – many by plane, train, automobile and cruising. Many of those adventures were with his beloved wife of 48 years, Nancy. Their greatest adventure was the final Round the World Cruise on the Queen Elizabeth II (QE2) in 2007.

David graduated from Hamilton High School/Los Angeles in 1954 and West Los Angeles City College. When he and Nancy were first married they lived in Westchester, a suburb of Los Angeles, so they could be close to the airport for their frequent travels.

David was in the travel industry for 35 years. He owned Leif Erikson Travel Agency at the Brentwood Country Mart in Brentwood, CA as well as working for Mexico Travel Advisors while in Los Angeles and World Airways. He was active in The American Association of Travel Agents (ASTA). In 1979 they moved to Hawaii and worked for Roberts Hawaii Tours where he created the ‘Roberts Over-Nighter’ Program that is still popular today. He retired from St. Francis School in Manoa Valley after being the business manager for 10 years. After retirement he volunteered every year with AARP to help people with their taxes.

David and Nancy “honeymooned” in Hawaii for 37 years, because it never felt like they weren’t on vacation. While in Hawaii he was active in Makakilo Lion’s (International) and received the Jones Fellowship Award for Community Service. He served on the Makakilo-Kapolei Neighborhood Board plus Palehua Board and served several terms on the Palehua Hillside Board. He and Nancy are members of Trinity United Methodist Church and founding members of Kapolei Mission UMC.

David was always smiling and could charm anyone. He started young learning how to make people happy by being a caddy at the Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles, one of the only country clubs where many of the elite of Hollywood could play, like the Marx Brothers, Milton Berle, Jack Benny, Danny Kaye and George Burns. David had an amazing sense of humor probably because of these comedic legends.

Since living in Arizona David and Nancy have tried to visit as many of the beautiful places as they could including Sedona, Tubac, Bisbee, Tombstone, Karchner Caverns, Prescott and their comfy home in Scottsdale.

David’s family will miss his wit and quick smile along with his calming voice of reason. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Nancy Walter, son Michael (Pam) Walter of Lake Mardon, WA, daughter Laurie Moss of Hanover, MD, daughter Beth (Ron) Cadman of Mesa, AZ. Eight grandchildren blessed his life with joy and love along with 4 great-grandchildren. David was preceded in death by sons Patrick Walter and Keith Danforth. David and Nancy are also members at North Scottsdale United Methodist Church and services are pending at Trinity UMC in Pearl City, Hawaii.