John A. Walter Jr., 51, of 417 Portersville Rd., Wurtemburg, Pa., passed away unexpectedly in his residence on Thursday.

Born in Ellwood City on Oct. 18, 1959, he was the son of the late John A. and Virginia J. Lowe Walter. He married the former Rose M. Greco on Feb. 12, 1993.

John was a steel fabricator at Woodward Inc. in Evans City.

A 1977 graduate of Seneca Valley High School, John enjoyed stargazing and attended many stargazing conventions. He also loved the outdoors, especially rafting with his grandchildren.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by six stepchildren, Bill and Denise Warsing, both of Ohio, Jaime Montgomery of Valencia, Eric Walker and Carrie Vitullo, both of Ellwood City, and Rosemary Scully of Denton, Md.; 11 step-grandchildren; a sister and brother-in-law, Mary Jane and Robert Bollinger of Ellwood City; a brother and sister-in-law, Daniel and Patty Walter of Harmony; five nieces; and one nephew.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a nephew, Ethan Polling.

WALTER — Visitation for John A. Walter Jr., who died Thursday, June 9, 2011, will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at the

Joseph A. Tomon Jr. Funeral Home and Crematory, 97 Grim Ave., Ellport.A funeral service will be held at the funeral home following the visitation at 8 p.m. with Rev. Elizabeth Wallace officiating. Private interment will take place in Grace Church Cemetery.The family requests you view the obituary and sign the guestbook at http://www.tomonfuneralhome.com.