Walter Bradley Victorine

1925 - 2015

Walter Bradley Victorine
June 30, 1925 – June 12 2015
Resident of Carmel
Walter Victorine was born on June 30th 1925 on the family ranch just south of Mal Paso creek along the Carmel, CA coastline. Walter was a descendant of the legendary Victorine family that sailed from the Azores Island of Portugal to settle on the Monterey Peninsula in 1860 near Whalers Cove in Point Lobos. Overtime the ranch grew to almost 1,800 acres and stretched from just south of the Carmel River past San Jose Creek and included all of the Yankee Point area.
Life was not easy on the ranch. When he was six years old his daily chores included gathering firewood and water in the morning and at night for the house. As he grew older he was responsible for hunting deer, pigeon, rabbits and boar for food. Walt loved guns and hunting. At age six his dad taught him how to shoot a gun using match sticks as targets. He shot his first deer at age nine. Walt belonged to the Carmel Valley gun club throughout his life.
At age eighteen, Walt graduated from Monterey High School in 1944 and joined the United States Marine Corp. After basic training, he was shipped to the WW II battle in Iwo Jima. Walt received the Purple Heart for wounds he received during the battle. After his recuperation period in Hawaii, he was sent to China and then returned home in 1946. Walt had an amazing ability to remember details. One example of this was when Clint Eastwood invited Walt to lunch to get first hand details of the battles at Iwo Jima that Clint used in the making of his film, "Flags of Our Fathers".
After leaving the Marine Corp, Walt began working several jobs along the coast including working as a fire fighter for the Carmel Highlands Fire Department and for Senator Tickle repairing and maintaining his home which is the current site of the Tickle Pink Inn behind the Highlands Inn Hotel and Resort.
In 1951, at the age of 26, Walt began as a part time deputy sheriff with the Monterey Count Sheriff's department. In 1954 the budget for his part-time position was cut. However, with the support of the local community and then Sheriff McCoy, the budget for his job was reinstated and on May 1, 1956 Walt was sworn in as a full-time deputy sheriff. During his twenty nine years with the Sheriff's department and as a member of the rescue squad, Walt received many letters of thanks and compliments for his assistance to visitors and residents of Monterey County and for the many heroic rescue missions that he led or participated in that saved lives. Walt retired from the Sheriff's department in 1980 after 29 years of service.
Walt moved to Carmel Valley in 1966 with his first wife Debbie and their son Joe who was five years old at the time. Debbie passed away in 1970 following a long battle with cancer. Walt acquired two more sons and a daughter when he married the single woman next door, Marilyn DeSilva on May 26th, 1972. Walt and Marilyn celebrated their forty third wedding anniversary last month. "Sam" as he would call her and Walt enjoyed many good times together and took care of one another throughout the years. Love and dedication are two words that truly described their years of marriage. In 1978, Walt and Marilyn moved to Canada Drive near the mouth of Carmel Valley and in November of 2012 moved to Sunrise Senior Living Apartments in Monterey.
Walt was a charming and engaging person. He never failed to standup when you came to visit and greet you with a firm handshake and a smile on his face to say hi and welcome. His story telling captivated and intrigued you. He loved to sing and dance. Most of his songs, poems and limericks were "military grade" that could not be repeated in public. But a few of his favorite songs that he would sing in public were "You are my Sunshine", "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" and "Deep in the Heart of Texas". Walt also loved to dance. His favorite dance with Marilyn was the waltz. After he would wear her out dancing, she would sit and he would return to the dance floor to perform his own custom version of the jitter bug.
Walt leaves behind many people who loved, respected and enjoyed being with him. His wife Marilyn, his son Joe and wife Terry, his son Al and wife Donna, his son Todd and wife Patty, daughter Cindy and her husband Dave, granddaughters Josselyn and Sarah, grandsons Matt and Nick, great granddaughters Sophia and Isla and his many, many friends at Sunrise and on the Monterey Peninsula.
Services for Walt will be held at The Paul Mortuary on Lighthouse Avenue in Pacific Grove on June 25th from 4 pm to 6 pm. Friends are invited. In lieu of flowers, if you wish to make a donation please make it to the Salvation Army or the charity of your choice.