Walt Herreid

1952 - 2022

Walt Herreid died April 28, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska, under the compassionate care of the Providence Palliative Care team. He was born Jan. 25, 1952, in Toronto, Canada, where his parents, Gordon and Marilyn, were attending graduate school.

His first big adventure came a few months later when he flew with his parents in their Cessna 140 back to their home in Fairbanks, by way of Chicago and Los Angeles where Walt met his grandparents for the first time.

Walt had an unusual childhood. Born into a can-do family, they didn't let a new baby cramp their style. He happily entertained himself while his parents built their first of many houses and founded the first community on Ballaine Road, Dog Patch. His mother stated, "If I could know they would all be like him, I'd have 10!" He was soon joined by two siblings, Ingrid and Gretchen. Several years later the family moved to Red Devil, Alaska, where his father worked as the geologist for the cinnabar mine there.

Walt attended a one-room school house (commuting by himself with his two-dog team) along with the children of the other mine workers. When Alaska became a state, Walt's father was hired as the state's first geologist and spent the next 20 years mapping the state and bringing his family with him. Until his teenage years Walt's summers were spent in the wilds of Alaska which encouraged his love of the outdoors and cross country skiing.

Walt's big passion was music. He started early on the bassoon and was classically trained. Later, while living in Montreal, he embraced Early Music with a passion. Walt graduated high school in Oslo, Norway. Then came an enchanted period in his life when he traveled through Europe writing poetry and playing music and living life for the sheer joy of it.

After returning to Fairbanks and obtaining a degree in music performance walt began another great adventure, marrying Joan Rorro and starting a family. The young family moved to Tok in 1982 where Walt was the music teacher for three years at which time they moved to Connecticut for Walt to pursue higher education in music and library science. However, they continued to feel the pull of Alaska and in 1995 they returned for good.

By this time Walt was just beginning to show signs of Huntington's disease and the next 20 years were times of struggle. Although he managed to stay independent for much of that time and found solace in music and nature, he suffered many losses including family, livelihood and finally his precious independence. Through it all there was one thing that sustained him until almost the very end, something he inherited from both his parents: his optimism.

As a friend said, "Walt was gifted with music and also with Huntington's and has walked such a complicated and challenging road." His life was defined by both.

Walt leaves behind his three children, Benjamin, Jennie and Sam, of whom he was very proud, and his grandson, Luca. He leaves his former wife, Joan, who brightened his life with visits, cards and phone calls in his last years, and his sisters, Gretchen and Ingrid, as well as his niece and nephew, Sabe and Reidar.

The family would like to thank Walt's guardians, (the late) Bea and Connie who took him on when they were experiencing nothing but brick walls. Also, thank you to Carol and her crew at Holy Family who treated him like family and called him brother. The kindness, caring and compassion shown by the Providence Pallative Care team was beautiful and comforting.

For those who would like to make a donation in Walt's name, the family suggests the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra.