Packer, Walter H. of Medford, 85.
Beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, Uncle, Brother, and Brother-in-Law passed away on August 6, 2015. He is now at peace, reunited with his son, James, who passed away in 2007.
Walter grew up in Newburyport, and after graduating from Newburyport High School, he entered the U. S. Navy. He served in Korea as a radar operator on the USS McCaffrey. After 4 years he left the service, and he married the love of his life, Mary E. Ryan in 1952. On the alter that chilly December day was his sister-in-law, Margaret (Peggy Ryan) Alessi. When Walter told this story, he always said that when he married Mary, he didn’t know he would be marrying Peggy as well. The three of them shared a wonderful friendship. Walter attended Northeastern University where he got his degree in Engineering, and his Masters in Business. He worked for the Raytheon Company for 40 years where was a senior manager. After he retired, he worked for another 20 years helping people do tax returns. He was a kind and generous man who listened to their life stories and regaled them with stories of his own, as he found all the tax breaks he could for each and every person he met.
He was a Knight of Matignon where all his children attended school. He shared his passions for fishing and gardening with his children and grandchildren. He was a member of the South Boston Yacht Club. He loved boating around Boston Harbor with Mary, "his first mate". He loved the phrase, "The best day in the life of a boat owner is when they buy their boat, and the second best day is when they sell it." An avid gardener, Walter was a true green thumb farmer. He grew everything from tomatoes to potatoes. No year passed without his yard displaying the wonders of each season. He belonged to the Minuteman Round Dancing Club and then the Baldwin Apples, enjoying dancing and the many conventions he and Mary attended. He loved to travel and every summer packed his family into the car for road trips to various historic places. He had a life- long passion for learning and seeing places he learned from history. In his later years, he loved nothing better than being with his family. Holidays, birthdays, and summer cookouts were a great joy for him. He loved his wife, his children, his grandchildren, nieces, and nephews with such a fierce devotion. They were his world.
Walter is survived by his loving wife, Mary (Ryan) Packer, his son Robert, and his wife LeeAnn, of Pomfret Center, CT, his daughter Jeanne Lamarre, her husband Mark, of Londonderry, NH, his daughter Judith, of Malden, and his daughter-in-law, Linda Koster of Stoughton. He is predeceased by his son, James Packer. He felt such love, pride, and joy in his grandchildren, Meredith, Michael, Jamie, Jace, and Samantha. He will be remembered by his nieces and nephews, who have always known him as a loving and supportive uncle. He is also survived by his brother, Leslie Packer, of Amesbury, and his sister Judith (Packer) Kennedy of Newburyport; his sisters-in-law Margaret Ryan Alessi, and June Ryan, both of South Boston.
There will be no calling hours and the service will be private for family and friends.
In lieu of flowers, please recognize Walter’s generous spirit, and consider making a donation to the Lustgarten Foundation for pancreatic research, or your own favorite charity.