John A. Walters

John Arthur Walters was born in San Francisco on June 23, 1946. His parents were Henry St. John Walters and Georgianne Mary (Trautner) Walters. His dad worked for the State of California as a court reporter.

The family--including his older brother Henry and younger brother Tom--lived in Hayward, California until 1952, when they moved to Whittier, CA. All three brothers attended St. Mary’s School in Whittier and St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs, CA. John later graduated from UCLA with a degree in mechanical engineering and went to work for the Bethlehem Steel Company as an engineer in the rolling mill in Los Angeles.

John had many hobbies and interests growing up, including astronomy, robotics and telescope building, and had about any pet you can imagine (fish, hamsters, birds, rats, tortoises, dogs, reptiles, etc.) He also enjoyed working on motorcycles and other mechanical devices and electronics. He was a licensed ham radio operator with the call sign KK6GSS.

He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war, but ended up spending almost all of his enlistment working at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, testing rockets.

John received a master’s degree in computer science at California State University Fullerton in 1991, and subsequently taught several classes in computer programming at local colleges.

He liked to joke around a lot. John never married and always said he didn’t have any kids “to speak of”. (“A bachelor is a man who never made the same mistake once.”) He was a devoted friend and companion to Lorna for 33 years and shared many good times with her and her nieces and nephew, Jennifer, Edward, Amber, and Allison.

He enjoyed spending time with his brothers, nieces, and nephews.

John passed away on October 6, 2024, of natural causes and will be missed by all of us