Walter C. Sarver Jr.

November 18, 2014 Last Updated: November 18, 2014 10:01 AM Death Notice

Walter C. Sarver Jr., 88, formerly of Saxonburg, went to be with the Lord on Monday in Whitefish, Mont.

He was born on July 16, 1926, in Allegheny County to Walter C. Sarver and Alice Michel Sarver. He was the oldest of four children.

Walter left high school in the 10th grade, wanting to serve his country in time of need, and he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He later earned his GED and diploma from Freeport High School.

In 1947, he married Della Maurhoff. They had six daughters.

He worked various jobs early in his life, obtaining his private and commercial pilot's licenses in the process. He went on to be a civilian flight instructor at Graham Air Force Base in Mariana, Fla., from 1953 to 1956. After that, he worked as a captain for the commercial airline industry, first with Allegheny Airlines and later for US Airways for more than 30 years.

He was an accomplished trapshooter as well, shooting just shy of 230,000 targets at ATA-sponsored events in his lifetime. He attended all but a few of the Grand American Trapshooting Championships during his 42 years of shooting.

Walt loved to hunt deer, elk and waterfowl and also enjoyed fishing during his travels “out West” to Montana — a place he truly loved. He was a supporter of multiple sportsman organizations.

In retirement, he moved to his property in Creston, Mont., where he farmed and gardened, snow-skied and enjoyed sitting on his back deck watching the mountains.

Walter was well-respected by everyone who met him, and he had many dear friends throughout his life. He was greatly loved by his family and will be missed by all.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter Sarver and Alice Sarver Herold, and his brother, Dale Sarver.

He is survived by his wife, Della Sarver; his sisters, Lois (William) Gallino and June Keasey; his daughters, Barbara Sarver, Bev (Tom) Heitzer, Elaine (Mike) Heitzer, Sharon (Dave) Johnston, Karen (Ryan) Pring and Linda (Travis) Addington; and his seven grandchildren.

Sarver— Visitation for Walter C. Sarver Jr., who passed away Monday, Oct. 13, 2014, will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at theFox Funeral Home, 410 W. Main St., Saxonburg.A funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home with the Rev. Barry Keurulainen officiating. Interment to follow at the Sarverville Cemetery.A reception will follow at the St. Luke's Lutheran Church, 330 Hannahstown Road, Cabot.For more information, please visit www.foxfuneralhomeinc.com.