Walter is a retired pastor with dual standing in the United Church of Christ and The United Methodist Church. He graduated from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana and has a MTS degree from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. Walter grew up in Fort Lee, New Jersey where he was a leading trumpet player in high school and went on to play with numerous groups in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. His lifetime interest in music led to certification as a Piano Tuner/Technician. He established a piano rebuilding business in Brockton, MA., Piano Revival, and also served as President of the Southeastern Massachusetts Chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild. He was active in training apprentices from the North Bennett Street School in Boston and also was a certified teacher for the Piano Technicians Guild.
Blinded at age six by an accident, he has always been an active advocate for the visually impaired and also for those who have been on the edges of society, facing challenges of family problems and of spiritually and socially impoverished lives.
In addition to serving as pastor for churches in Colorado, Maine and Massachusetts, he has also been a member of many councils and task forces, working for the rights of disabled people. A member of the National Federation of the Blind, he has served as president of local chapters in Massachusetts as well as Maine. He is now coordinator of the NFB NEWSLINE program in Maine. Currently he is a member of the Board of Directors of The Iris Network and Chairman of the Consumer Advisory Committee.
He lives in Portland with his wife, Dorothy, and enjoys reading, singing in the State Street Church choir and spending time at his summer home in Steuben, Maine.