Walter Skold

1960 - 2018

Walter S. Skold
September 30, 1960 - January 20, 2018
Elkins Park
On Saturday January 20, 2018, Walter Stauffer Skold suffered a heart attack and died at Einstein Medical Center in Elkins Park, PA, where he had recently moved to be closer to his mother and sister. Previously he had lived in ME, MA, China, New York City, PA and NJ, where he was born in Longbranch on September 30, 1960.
Walter was a traveler and loved being on the road in search of his next grand adventure. For the last ten years Walter's journeys took him all across the country as he made it his life's work to document the gravesites of every poet buried in the U.S., both the well-known, like Poe and Frost, and those long forgotten after their time. He took on the name Dead Poet Guy and traveled around in Dedgar the Poemobile, a large van outfitted with solar panels and original artwork. Dedgar doubled as his office, his bed, and his beloved traveling companion—alongside Raven, a large stuffed jaguar, a dashboard bobblehead of Edgar Allan Poe, and a harmonica always at hand.
Walter had a Bachelor's degree in history from Fordham University in New York where he first worked as a journalist. A voracious researcher (he later acquired a Master in Library and Information Science) and a lover of Freedom, he relished in exposing injustices around the world. He reported from Tiananmen Square, joined humanitarian efforts in Tibet, welcomed and supported the Lost Boys from Sudan, fought for the freedom of press in Cuba, and much more. These pursuits were also inspired by the faith he found in Jesus Christ, which had led to his baptism as a young man in 1979. This faith in the good news of Christ was expressed in his many acts of love for his neighbor near and far, and was a significant part of his life-long pursuit for Truth.
Walter always took special delight in unearthing those stories overlooked by most, among them the claim that Henry Livingston, Jr. was the true author of the children's poem popularly known as "The Night Before Christmas." Walter was the first to publish a version of this text in Livingston's name in 2011. It was this concern for the overlooked that first fueled a small personal hobby of tracking and visiting local poets' graves. However, he soon recognized the magnitude of the task set before him and The Dead Poets Society was born. With each trip his list got longer, and he eventually took to an audacious goal: 500 graves of American poets. He made it to 627, at least.
The Dead Poet Guy recorded his travels on his website deadpoets.typepad.com and involved hundreds of people across the country, poets and passengers alike, as he planned graveside readings, held interviews, and drew attention to the fascinating lives, and deaths, of his subjects. He filmed and photographed much of his journey and compiled some of his work into a short documentary, "Live From The Grave With Dedgar" (vimeo.com/185808437), which he hoped to eventually turn into a full-length documentary. This was meant to follow his first documentary, "One Tuesday Morning," produced in 2013 about the Freeport Flag Ladies (vimeo.com/ondemand/onetuesdaymorning). Unfinished projects include publishing a book of his own poetry and curating a museum of original artwork and interesting items found at gravesites.
As a lasting legacy, Walter founded Dead Poet's Remembrance Day, observed on the Sunday closest to October 7th (the date of Poe's demise), to educate communities about their literary history. He envisioned people going out on this day every year to visit poets' graves, read their poetry and celebrate their contributions.
He also developed what he called "Tombstone Art," a form of installation art where he decorated tombstones and photographed his work. Many of these colorful photographs can be found on the Dead Poets website. His final installation will be his own. He recently collaborated with tombstone carver Michael Updike to design his own grave marker, a fitting endeavor with the son of one of Walter's great inspirations (a writer who traveled himself, with Charley).
Walter was a man of spectacle, surprise and spontaneity, who needed no reason to show up unannounced. He transformed the mundane into the fantastic and loved eliciting smiles on the faces of those around him. Waking you up with firecrackers in the morning. Appearing at your door as Santa Clause in July. Blaring Bob Dylan beside you at a red light.
Above all, Walter loved his family and was proud to be a father and grandfather. He was known to boast about his five children wherever he went, even sporting the license plate 5KDZNME for years. Walter Stauffer Skold is survived by his five children, Racquel (Bradley) Stucky of Garden City, KS, Simon Skold of Las Vegas, NV, Charles Skold of Cambridge, MA, Wesley (Sarah) Adeyinka-Skold of Philadelphia, and Samuel Skold of Freeport, ME; his mother, Mary Skold of Warminster; his siblings, Robert E. (Elsie) Skold, Jr. of Centennial, CO, and Salome (Craig) Prickett of Yardley, PA; his two grandchildren; his several nephews and nieces; and the mother of his children Barbara (Richard) Bundy of Freeport, ME. He was predeceased by his father, Robert E. Skold.
There will be a celebration of life service 10:30 a.m. Saturday, January 27, 2018 at Kuhner Associates Funeral Directors, Inc., 863 South George Street, York. Visitation will be 9:30-10:30 a.m. For those who can't attend, the service will be videotaped and another service in ME is being planned for the future. In lieu of flowers please donate money to:
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Pennsylvania www.hiaspa.org/donate or Poe Baltimore www.poeinbaltimore.org/support/ or The Voice of the Martyrs www.persecution.com/donate/
KuhnerAssociates.com