Walter C. Douglas

Walter Calvin Douglas, 85, died peacefully on May 25 at Brighton Gardens in Middletown, NJ. He was born February 12, 1929 in Hoboken, NJ to Ethel and George Douglas. After a year in the US Army (1946-1947) in Tokyo, Japan with the original occupation force, he remained in the engineering division until 1951. He earned BS and MBA degrees from New York University. Walter worked in the real estate department at the Nestle Company, where he met his loving wife of 61 years, Sue Carol Wood. He was a real estate manager at Trinity Church Wall Street for 17 years, an executive vice president at Rockefeller Center in their leasing department for 10 years, and a CEO at Barclay's Bank. Walter and Sue lived in Staten Island, NY and attended St. Mary's Episcopal Church, where he was on the vestry and the head of a young couples group. He conducted services at the Sailors' Snug Harbor, West Brighton for the diocese of NY. He and his family moved to Westfield, NJ in 1960 and lived there for 50 years before Walter and Sue retired to Sarasota, FL in 2010. As a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, he was a Sunday school teacher and involved in other church activities. For 10 years he and his wife each had Boy Scout/Girl Scout troops for special needs children. He chaperoned a troop of Boy Scouts when they went to the World Jamboree in Japan and was a Little League baseball and softball coach. He was a member of Echo Lake Country Club for 40 years, the treasurer of the Community of St. John's Baptist in Mendham, NJ, and on the board for the United Fund. Walter was predeceased by his daughter, Cecily Carol Douglas, in 1989 and his son, Scott Wood Douglas, in 1995. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Sue, of Middletown, NJ; his daughter Robyn Kilpatrick and her husband Brian of Red Bank, NJ; and three granddaughters, Margot List and her husband Giacomo DeFeo of Milan, Italy; Alexandra List of New York City; and Sabrina List of Boston, MA. Also surviving are his brother, George Douglas, his sister Ann Heltzman and her husband Gerard, three nephews, and four nieces. There will be a memorial service on Friday, May 30 at 11:00 am at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 414 East Broad St, Westfield, NJ 07090.Arrangements by Gray Funeral Directors, Westfield. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, parishoffice@stpaulswestfield.org.