W. Walter Sowyrda

W. Walter Walt Sowyrda of Taunton died April 17, 2012, at Morton Hospital. He was 89. Walt was born in 1923 in Middleboro, the fourth of eight children of John and Eva Sowyrda. A 1940 graduate of Middleboro High, he received his Certificate in Accounting from the Bentley School of Accounting in 1943. From 1943-1945, he served with the U. S. Army with the Seabees in World War II in both the North African and European Theaters. Walt graduated Cum Laude from Bryant College in 1949. In 1955, Walt began a 31-year career of service to the Commonwealth, predominantly in the Dept. of Mental Health. He retired from state service in 1986 as assistant superintendent of Taunton State Hospital. In recognition of his long and dedicated service to Taunton State, the Commonwealth honored him with a building dedication on the grounds of the Hospital. Walt loved to farm and garden, particularly on his family farm in Middleboro and to travel with his family, camping throughout the United States and cruising to Alaska, Europe and the Caribbean. He was a longtime member of the Elks. In 2000, Walt received the Marian Medal from the Diocese of Fall River. A communicant of St. Andrew the Apostle Church (formerly St. Pauls Church), Walt was married to his beloved wife, M. Kathleen Sowyrda, for 55 years until Kays death in 2009. He is survived by his sons, Michael W. Sowyrda and his wife Kathleen Sowyrda of Grafton and William P. Sowyrda and his wife Mary Ellen Sowyrda of Hingham; his brother, Gregory Sowyrda of Peabody; his sisters, Sophia (Sowyrda) Mas of Waldwick, N.J., and Cynthia (Sowyrda) Letendre of Fairfax, Va.; as well as his grandchildren, Kathleen, Brian, Jennifer and Kaitlyn Sowyrda and Sean Kiley. Funeral Mass at Sacred Heart Church, 340 Centre St., Middleboro, Monday, April 23, 2012, at 10 a.m. Calling hours will be held at the Ashley Funeral Home, 35 Oak St., in Middleboro, Sunday from 5-8 p.m. Burial will take place in Nemasket Hill Cemetery, Middleboro. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the John and Eva Sowyrda Scholarship Fund, c/o Mayflower Cooperative Bank, 30 South Main St., Middleboro, MA 02346, or the American Diabetes Association, 10 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701.