WALTER E. DILLON Jr.

DILLON Walter E. Dillon, Jr. Attorney and Author May 24, 1925 - December 23, 2014 Walter Eugene Dillon, Jr. died on December 23, 2014 in Alexandria, Virginia as a result of complications from dementia. He was 89 years old. Mr. Dillon was born in Manhattan and raised in Highbridge, Bronx, NY. He was the son of Walter E. Dillon and Vera A. Dillon (née McGowan) of New York City. Mr. Dillon attended Regis High School, graduating in 1943. He was inducted into the Army in August 1943 and fought in Europe, where he was critically wounded during the Battle of the Ardennes Forest, Belgium, in January 1945 and was awarded the Purple Heart. While recuperating at Walter Reed Hospital, Mr. Dillon received his B.A. from Georgetown University in 1948 and went on to earn his law degree from Columbia University in 1951. In 1951 Mr. Dillon married Anna Marie Irving, of Brooklyn, NY, and returned to Washington, DC to continue his legal career. He worked for the Office of Price Stabilization and National Enforcement Commission before going into private practice with Maj. Gen. Joseph V. Dillon (Ret.) in 1953 as Dillon and Dillon. Their Washington, DC practice consisting mainly in dealing with federal authorities with investigative functions including the FBI, IRS, Department of Justice, FHA, FTC and others. His law career lasted for more than 30 years, representing individuals, businesses, unions and foreign government officials in civil and criminal cases. Additionally, he did pro bono work for clients involved in civil rights issues in the 1950s and 1960s, mentored at-risk youth and served a term as president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce. During his tenure as president of the Jaycees, Mr. Dillon cast the deciding vote to admit Mr. Sterling Tucker as the first African-American to the Washington, DC chapter. Mr. Dillon was a great story-teller and accomplished writer of novels, plays and short stories. His first novel, a satire of military intelligence, Little Brother Is Watching, was published in 1962 by Houghton Mifflin. Publication of this first novel led to an interview on NBC's Today Show as well as an entry in a New York Times crossword puzzle. A friend forwarded the book to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who wrote a personal note to Mr. Dillon thanking him for the copy. However, after reading Little Brother Is Watching, Hoover was not amused at the satire and started an FBI file on Mr. Dillon, as he learned later. A member of the Mystery Writers of America, Mr. Dillon's novel Deadly Intrusion, published by Bantam Paperbacks and set in the metro-DC area, was nominated for an Edgar Award in 1988 in the Best Paperback Original Mystery Novel category. The mystery was also published in Japan and Denmark. A play written in 1994, The Son-in-Law Did It, generated staged readings at venues from Mt. Gretna, PA to Los Angeles, CA. Mr. Dillon also wrote legal articles for the Practical Lawyer as well as short stories and biographical sketches included in publications ranging from the Washington Post to Playboy magazine. Mr. Dillon is survived by Anna Marie Dillon, his wife of 64 years; his daughter Judith and son-in-law Timothy Willard of Alexandria, VA; his son Samuel and daughter-in-law Marlene Fleming and beloved granddaughters Brittney and Aliya of Oxon Hill, MD; two sisters and numerous nieces, nephews and friends. Mr. Dillon will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at 1 p.m. Family and friends are instructed to assemble at the Administration Building forty-five minutes prior to the service. Reception to follow at the Ft. Myer Officers Club. Cheerio Walt, Daddy-O, Grandpa, Red and Uncle Bud! You were one-of-a-kind and your affection, wit and unique self will be greatly missed by all who knew you.Cheerio Walt, Daddy-O, Grandpa, Red and Uncle Bud! You were one-of-a-kind and your affection, wit and unique self will be greatly missed by all who knew you.