John Daniel Walters,Jr. Obituary (1943 - 2017)

John Daniel Walters, Jr. (danny), age 74, passed away Tuesday, April 11th, 2017 at Highline Community Hospital after suffering a debilitating stroke. He was surrounded by friends and family members. Danny was born in Wichita Falls, TX on February 5th, 1943 to Mattie Lee and John Daniel Walters. Danny was the eldest of three children and was raised in Texas with his sister Sherry and brother Bobby. Together they had many adventures. Danny participated in boy scouts as a youth and at age 12 won a trip to Baltimore to watch the A's defeat the Orioles at the Municipal Stadium by selling the most tickets to their local Scoutorama. Danny as joined by the 2nd and 3rd place ticket sellers and had a great time. He loved riding motorcycles, working on cars, fishing, and shooting; typical boy activities for the day. He had many friends and cousins that he would hang out and get into mischief with. At 16 yrs of age Danny got into a nasty car accident. He had to have surgery and wound up on crutches most of his junior year. Danny used this to his advantage, allowing the girls to carry his books and take pity on him. Danny graduated from Wichita Falls High School in June 1961. He worked at the local Char-King hamburger stand that summer and come Fall enrolled at the local college. Danny decided that college wasn't really his thing and in 1962 he enlisted in the Navy. He served as a Radio operator on the USS Graffias. It was aboard this ship that he received the first transmission indicating that the US was at war with Vietnam. He served his term until honorably discharged in 1966. During the winter of 1965 the USS Graffias docked at Todd Shipyard in Seattle. Danny and a couple of his friends decided to cruise the town. As they pulled into White Center they noticed a car full of girls ahead of them; their car making a "funny noise". They pulled up alongside of the girls to tell them that something was wrong with the car. Danny immediately took fancy to the red head at the wheel. They followed the girls into the local hamburger stand parking lot and Danny and Janet began talking. It was Christmas time and there was mistletoe, so a kiss was bound to happen. It didn't take Danny long to decide that she was "the one". It was time for Danny to head back out to sea and he knew what had to be done, so he called Janet's parents and asked if he could propose. They said yes and so did she. They were married on August 20th 1966. Together the two of them moved to Danny's hometown of Wichita Falls. Danny had trouble finding a good job in his small town and Janet missed her family and struggled with the hot Texas heat, so back to Seattle they moved to settle down permanently. Janet's father Jim worked at Todd Shipyard and helped Danny get hired on. He entered a Plumber's and Pipefitters apprebticeship and worked as a marine pipefitter for Todd until retirement 45 yrs later. After retiring he continued to support the trade by helping to set up the current Marine Apprenticeship Program. He was a valuable teacher and inspired many young pipefitters. Danny and Janet worked hard and bought a small home in Burien where they raised their two children Stacie and Ty. In the mid seventies they decided that the small home was feeling a little crowded so with the help of Janet's parents they built addition onto their existing home, more than doubling its size. Danny was a family man first and foremost. He loved coming home after work, relaxing a bit and then playing with his kids. Danny enjoyed taking his kids bicycle racing at the BMX tracks, working as their pit crew on the side lines and cheering them on. He loved camping, fishing, hunting and taking trips with his family. He worked hard and played hard. Danny assisted on many home remodels and loved working on old cars. He especially loved building his '33 Plymouth Coupe and taking the old Graham Paige Sounder Train out for the Burien Fourth of July Parades. When it came to his family, Danny was never more than a phone call away. Danny also, enjoyed playing Poker and became a regular participant in the Senior tournaments at Roxys. He enjoyed the sense of community and friendship and of course loved it when he won. Danny is survived by his wife of 50 years, Janet Walters; His children Stacie Worden and Ty Walters; his granddaughter Danielle Miller; grandsons Timmy Miller, Patrick Worden, Justin Worden, and Alex Blume; and Sister Sherry Krajca. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Bobby Walters, and grandson Mikey Miller. Danny loved playing the role of "Papa" to all of his grandchildren including Zeek and great-grandson Jerimyah. Danny inspired and touched the lives of everyone around him and will be deeply missed by all his family and friends.