Obituary for Walter Edward Thayer
Walter “Wally” Edward Thayer passed peacefully from this life at the age of 79 on 24 October 2020, in Dover NH. New England and summers spent in York ME bookended Wally’s life with a 30-year Navy career in the middle.
Born in Holden MA in 1941 to Paul and Virginia (Smalley) Thayer and raised in Worcester MA, Wally enlisted in the U.S. Navy in January 1960 as a Mess Attendant. He served on several ships including the USS Independence, USS Enterprise – where he was inducted into the Order of the Shellbacks upon crossing the equator on 6 November 1965 – USS Forrestal, USS Van Voorhis, USS Meredith, and USS Kalamazoo. During his service, Wally earned the National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Battle Efficiency Award, and Good Conduct Medal. He served 22 years active duty through September 1981, and spent eight years in the Fleet Reserve before retiring as a Petty Officer First Class in October 1989 in Mayport, FL and moving back to New England in June 2015, to Dover NH, to be closer to family. Wherever he called home, he could be found sitting on his front stoop or in a rocking chair on his front porch waving to neighbors and listening to the latest scuttlebutt.
The youngest of seven siblings, Wally is predeceased by his parents; his brothers, Edwin (Helen) and Paul (Barbara); and his sisters, Harriet Thayer and Grace (Harry) Taylor. He leaves his brothers, Clifton (Dottie) and Stephen; his daughters, Norma Click, Loretta Thayer (Joe) Macenka, and Ginny (Geoff) Littlefield; two grandchildren, Amelia Click and Brody Macenka; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews, including Christopher Eld.
Whether it was his usual reply of “no problem” to any question or his consistently ornery disposition, Wally will be greatly missed by many who crossed his path. Thank you to the staff and fellow residents of the Dover Center for Health and Rehabilitation where he spent his last two years. Wally’s family will be memorializing his life in York ME on 7 August 2021 with a burial at sea on what would have been his 80th birthday.
Born in Holden MA in 1941 to Paul and Virginia (Smalley) Thayer and raised in Worcester MA, Wally enlisted in the U.S. Navy in January 1960 as a Mess Attendant. He served on several ships including the USS Independence, USS Enterprise – where he was inducted into the Order of the Shellbacks upon crossing the equator on 6 November 1965 – USS Forrestal, USS Van Voorhis, USS Meredith, and USS Kalamazoo. During his service, Wally earned the National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Battle Efficiency Award, and Good Conduct Medal. He served 22 years active duty through September 1981, and spent eight years in the Fleet Reserve before retiring as a Petty Officer First Class in October 1989 in Mayport, FL and moving back to New England in June 2015, to Dover NH, to be closer to family. Wherever he called home, he could be found sitting on his front stoop or in a rocking chair on his front porch waving to neighbors and listening to the latest scuttlebutt.
The youngest of seven siblings, Wally is predeceased by his parents; his brothers, Edwin (Helen) and Paul (Barbara); and his sisters, Harriet Thayer and Grace (Harry) Taylor. He leaves his brothers, Clifton (Dottie) and Stephen; his daughters, Norma Click, Loretta Thayer (Joe) Macenka, and Ginny (Geoff) Littlefield; two grandchildren, Amelia Click and Brody Macenka; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews, including Christopher Eld.
Whether it was his usual reply of “no problem” to any question or his consistently ornery disposition, Wally will be greatly missed by many who crossed his path. Thank you to the staff and fellow residents of the Dover Center for Health and Rehabilitation where he spent his last two years. Wally’s family will be memorializing his life in York ME on 7 August 2021 with a burial at sea on what would have been his 80th birthday.