Walter Edward Graesser was born on January 5, 1925 at the Gregory Hospital to Thomas D. & Neta (Stoltenberg) Graesser and died July 27, 2015 at Rosebud Country Care Center. He was the third of 4 children. Walt’s family lived in Carlock township until they moved to Valley township when he was four where he continued to live and raise his family until his retirement.
In 1943 he graduated from Gregory High School, after which he worked on the farm with his dad, taking over when his parents retired. Walt married Arlene (Lebert) on May 27, 1950 at the Paxton Methodist Church and to this union Rod, Steve, Kevin and Karen were born.
Walt’s passion was attending the sporting events of his children and grandchildren and there was little that caused him to miss, even if it involved milking the dairy cows at 4 in the afternoon. He loved working with horses and reminiscing about his special ones. One particular memory was during the winter of ’52 when roads were blocked with snow. Rod was a baby and became quite ill, requiring medication. The mailman was able to bring it as far as Carlock which was 10 miles away, so Walt rode his horse Rocket to get the medicine. Another special memory was when he found his team of horses, Nip and Tuck. They, along with Dick and Jean Steffen hitched them to a covered wagon for the SD centennial and participated in the wagon train from Winner to Bonesteel. Walt loved baseball. He played for Colome and had the opportunity to coach Rod, Steve and Kevin for several years. He also enjoyed watching his grandchildren play ball and talking Twins baseball, especially with grandson Carter.
His children have many memories of visiting neighbors which always involved a game of cards around the kitchen table. He continued to enjoy playing pitch with their many friends into his later years.
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