Walter Marley Fields Jr.

WALTER MARLEY FIELDS, JR., 85, resident of Kirby Pines Estates, died Monday, April 27, 2009, after a short illness. Walter, a lifelong Memphian, was a 1941 graduate of Christian Brothers High School, and was a member of the Christian Brothers High School Hall of Fame. Upon graduation from high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corp and served in the South Pacific with the Sixth Marine Division, fighting in the last major battle of World War II, Okinawa. Returning to Memphis after the war, he began his lumber career at Nickey Brothers Lumber Company. He attended and graduated from the third class of the National Hardwood Lumber Association Inspection Training School; after which he went to work as an inspector for the James E. Stark Lumber Company in Memphis. Later he was promoted to the position of lumber buyer for the firm. Walter founded Walter M. Fields Lumber Company in 1960 as a wholesale hardwood lumber business. The firm operates today as a hardwood lumber concentration facility in Memphis on Presidents Island. Both his grandfather and father were hardwood lumbermen, instilling in him the dedication, integrity and passion for the industry. His love for the hardwood industry was evident by the many organizations he was involved in. He served as director and later as President of the National Hardwood Lumber Association and was Chairman of the Building Committee when the association’s national headquarters relocated to Memphis from Chicago in 1980. Walter was an active member of the Lumbermen’s Club of Memphis, serving as President in 1967. He sold Memphis as the “Hardwood Capital of the World.” In 1984, he received the Lumberman of the Year Award, in recognition of his service to industry, community and family. He was a former member of Chickasaw Country Club, where for many years he enjoyed his friends and his love for the game of golf. He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 57 years, Shirley Mott Fields, his parents, Walter M. Fields, Sr. and Mae Zanone Fields, and three sisters, Virginia Mae Fields, Mary Catherine Venters and Dorothy Covington. He is survived by two sons, Walter M. Fields, III (Becky) and Robert M. Fields (Debbie) of Memphis, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and his special friend Liz Jackson. Services will be held at Saint Louis Catholic Church, where he was a parishioner for fifty years, on Friday, May 1 at 10 a.m. Visitation for family and friends will be held on Thursday evening, April 30, from 5-7 p.m. at Memorial Park Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorials be sent to the Monsignor Paul W. Clunan Endowment Fund, c/o Saint Louis Church; Christian Brothers High School; the Alzheimer's Association or a charity of the donor's choice. Memorial Park Funeral Home (901)767-8930 www.memorialparkonline.com