Walter M. Grode

October 3, 1922 - March 29, 2023 Walter M. Grode was born in Bristol, South Dakota, on October 3, 1922, the fourth son of Peter and Barbara Grode, on the family farm. He attended a one room schoolhouse through the 6th grade, then went on to graduate from Bristol High School with 13 classmates. He moved to San Diego just before WWII to work for Consolidated Aircraft, then enlisted in the Navy when the war broke out. He graduated at the top of his class in the aircraft maintenance program and was assigned to the USS Chandeleur, a reconnaissance aircraft repair and maintenance ship, and served 3 years of distinguished active duty in the South Pacific Theater before receiving an honorable discharge. He then returned home to South Dakota to work on the family farm and to start his own farming operation. Walt met and fell in love with Rita Halsted in 1959 during his annual trip to visit his brother in Arcadia, CA. He proposed to her the following year. They were married, and Walt moved to Southern California and opened C and G Rents in San Dimas which he ran until he retired in 1987. During retirement, Walt and Rita loved to spend time with their six children and many grandchildren as well as their community of neighbors. Walt loved to raise vegetables in their garden, take photos of everybody and everything that he loved, devotedly practice his Catholic faith at Holy Name of Mary Parish, and to travel, especially to the annual Navy reunion to spend time with the close friends that he made during the war. His beloved Rita passed away peacefully in 2009, and since that time, Walt continued to live at his home in La Verne spending time with his family and his adopted family of neighbors and friends. Walt passed away gently at home on March 29, 2023, at the age of 100 years and 6 months. His family and friends were lucky to have had him in their lives for such a long time. He will be missed. TODD Memorial CHAPEL 570 N. Garey Avenue Pomona, CA 91767