David E. Walters Sr.

1942 - 2018

David E. Walters, Sr.

Fort Lauderdale, Fl - David E. Walters, Sr. died on Jan. 17, 2018, at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was 75. The cause of death was a brain tumor. Born on April 23, 1942, Dave was the son of Elzey and Ginny Walters. As a boy growing up on Long Island Sound, Dave took to the water at an early age, and, alongside his two younger brothers, Craig and Kenny, spent hours catching the wind in their sails. A graduate of Bucknell College, Dave began his apprenticeship in the late 1960s, for a fifty-year career in the boat business, under the tutelage of Howard Foster, at Allied Boats Company, in Catskill, New York. In 1971, he set up Sound Yachts Boat Yard and Marina, in New Rochelle, NY. Then, in 1975, in partnership with Walter Schultz, they established Shannon Yachts, in Bristol, RI. The company grew to become one of the world's premier boat builders. Shannon became the first of two companies founded by Dave, to be featured in Ferenc Mate's The World's Best Sailboats. After seven years with Shannon, Dave and his wife, Betsy Walters, founded Cambria. Dave designed a shear line that took months to perfect, and worked with some of the finest craftsmen in New England to design and loft the hulls of what would become one of the world's finest sailing yachts. In 2001, David Walters Yachts returned, for the first time since the close of Cambria, in 1990, when Betsy and Dave set up their brokerage business in Fort Lauderdale, FL. In 2011, Dave served as a director of the Florida Yacht Brokers Association, and in 2016, as a director of the Yacht Brokers Association of America. On Dec. 31, 2016, Dave and Betsy retired, and ownership of the company passed to Amanda Noon and Josh McLean. In April, 2017, the legacy continued, when David Walters Yachts announced a merger with RogueWave Yacht Sales, the largest brokerage firm in the United States for quality blue water sailing yachts. Besides boat design, Dave's lifelong passion was sailing. He built his first dinghy at age 14, and went on to become an intercollegiate and national champion before completing college. In June 2016, Dave and his son, David Walters, Jr., sailed on Pandion, a Cambria 46, with Skipper Brad Duncan, in the race from Annapolis to Bermuda. First out of the bay, they came in 3rd overall. While in high school, Dave's youngest son, Chris, sailed with his father in the Newport to Bermuda race. Diagnosed shortly after the race to Bermuda with a brain tumor, Dave brought the same qualities of fierce competition, optimism, gratitude and grace to his battle against cancer. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth "Betsy" Walters, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, his son, David E. Walters, Jr., and wife Tina, of Coconut Grove, FL, his son, Christopher W. Walters, wife Kati, and grandchildren Alex and Abigail Walters, of Atlanta, GA, his brother Craig Walters, and wife Georgia, of Longboat Key, FL, his brother Kenneth Walters. Of New Haven, CT, his sisters-in-law, Mary Butler, and husband, Dan Hebert, of Troy, VT, Jane LaTour, and husband, Russell Smith, of New York, NY, and Susan Morin, of West Springfield, MA, as well as nephews and nieces. A Memorial Mass and reception will be held at St. Sebastian Church, 2000 Marietta Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33316, on Friday, Jan. 26, at 11:00 a.m. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 19, 2018, at The First Congregational Church, 108 Sound Beach Ave., Old Greenwich, CT., 06870, at 11:00 a.m., followed by internment. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to: Parents Foundation for Transitional Living Inc., 100 Broadway, New Haven, CT 06511, Phone: (203) 776-3236, Web Address: www.parentsfoundation.com (Online donations are not accepted.) or Vitas Healthcare, 5420 Northwest 33rd. Ave., Suite 100, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33309, (954) 486-4085. Arrangements entrusted to Kraeer Funeral Home, Pompano Beach, FL. (954) 941-4111.