Walter Granfield

Walter J. �Wally� Granfield, a stately gentleman who called Albuquerque his home for more than half a century. by Richard J. �Rick� Granfield, his admiring son. Longtime New Mexico resident �Wally� Granfield, a man with much administrative talent, who journeyed the great southwest many times with Karen, his wife of sixty years, passed from our sight, in his sleep, on Wednesday, December 19th. He�d been with us for 95 years. Mr. Granfield set out on that inevitable journey after a short stay in hospice care, during which, family members were constantly at his side. Prayers for his safekeeping were recited with him and sent heavenward by one and all in attendance. A very popular member of his community, if Albuquerque had needed a social director, �Wally� could have been it. Whenever he met anyone new, he�d be the first to make introductions to all others present and always knew their names. Of him it can be said, �He knew the history of everyone around and took an abiding interest while listening attentively.� Everyone wanted to sit next to �Wally� as he had a way of making you feel more interesting than you actually were. He was one of the most likable persons I�ve ever known. I always had the impression that he cared about what I told him. I was struck by what came to be his genial acceptance of any and all folks he met, finding the good in everyone. During World War II, he worked with the Minneapolis Honeywell Regulator Company. This involved him in the continuing development of the C1 Autopilot, a system essential to the operation of the Boeing B-17, a four engine heavy bomber developed in the �30s for what was then the United States Army Air Corps. Doing so, his employment was considered essential to the war effort and, although called by his Uncle Sam for his pre-induction physical, he was never drafted. A capable man, he�d worked at the Sandia National Laboratories, and, at ninety-five, had been retired for a time longer than that in which he�d served in our national interest. Although an accomplished woodworker, nothing he ever did was more satisfying to him than providing for his family and, in the end, we reciprocated to a gentleman who could no longer do so for himself. �Wally� was a man who knew what true wealth is - �the ties that bind us together.� Born to Walter J. and Rebecca (nee Eastman) Granfield on December 4, 1917, his father a plumber and his Mom a housewife, �Wally� had a curiosity about the physical world surrounding him and the way things work. To satisfy that yearning in years to come, he attended the Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis and subsequently came to operate a radio repair shop in the New England Furniture company there in his home town. The first radio he built was a police frequency receiver of his own design. He was raised in the truth but it wasn�t until his sister Marguerite (1919 - 2001) encouraged him to be baptized that he became the devoted Witness we�ve known him to be these last sixteen years. He dated a beautiful person, his handpicked girlfriend, who was to become both his wife and my Mom. She�d moved from the tiny town of Glendive, Montana to open a beauty shop in the metropolis of Minneapolis. They met while doing what they each so enjoyed and that was ballroom dancing. Wintering there in the Upper Midwest, young Karen never returned to Montana again except to visit. She�d found a new home. Just a few years later and having lost their first child, I became their second. The two continued to settle there in Minneapolis until they resolved to relocate to Albuquerque in 1957 where they spent the rest of her life together for another 42 years. My Dad is survived by me and his two cherished granddaughters: Mrs. Leah Joelle Fitts, 46, wife of Anthony Fitts, of Pagosa Springs, CO and Mrs. Nisse Suzanne Edwards, 41, wife of Darryl Edwards, of Rio Rancho, NM. Plans for a memorial gathering are scheduled for Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. in the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah�s Witnesses at 8904 Menaul Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87112 Family members suggest any memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society. Daniels Family Funeral Services 7601 Wyoming Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87109 505-821-0010