Walter Vincent Benicewicz passed away from a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease just 2 weeks shy of his 88th birthday on March 25, 2021 in Danbury, CT. He was born to the late Anthony and Mary Benicewicz (Joblanski) on April 9, 1933. Walter spent his childhood in his hometown of Danbury. He recalled a memory from when he was very young of sitting on his mother’s lap on their front porch and watching the Aurora Borealis when the night skies of Danbury were much darker than today. Walter graduated from DHS. Some of his senior yearbook catch phrases were “Esquire’ styles”, “easy to get along with” and “Oh, those eyes”. Those phrases rang true throughout his life. After high school, he attended and graduated from Miami University in Oxford, OH where he received his Associates Degree in Psychology. He then served in the Korean War where he was trained as a Paratrooper but was selected from the enlisted ranks to serve as a captain’s personal secretary because he was a proficient typist. He was able to avoid combat and said he owed his life to his typing class at DHS. Walter found his passion for travel after his tour of duty in Korea which continued throughout his life. Walter worked at Perkin-Elmer Corporation in Norwalk, CT for many years until he retired early.
Besides traveling he enjoyed playing golf, loving his pets through the years, taking long Sunday drives, hiking, planting a yearly vegetable garden, bike riding, being in the sun and swimming. He was an excellent ice skater, brown belt in Karate and was called the “second Fred Astaire” of dance. He was also an avid reader of anything regarding WWII and enjoyed his early years with his neighbors on Crestdale Drive who became his lifelong friends. Above all else, Walter’s greatest joy was sharing his life with his only child Wendy. Their devotion for each other was boundless. They were inseparable and shared their lifelong passion of travel and adventures near and far and anywhere in between.
Walter was a man with youthful energy, loved to have fun and always maintained a resilient attitude as life threw him many difficult challenges. After he retired from work, you could find Walter tooling around Danbury. His everyday stops were at Starbuck’s for a coffee and a game of Sudoku, stopping over his daughter’s home for a few hours to chat, then grocery shopping at Stop & Shop for his nightly ingredients to make a chef inspired dinner while sipping a glass of red wine.
Walter is survived by his daughter Wendy Sortino, his wife Marilyn (Swiderski), his son in law, Michael Sortino, their furry children; his sisters Mary McGarty, Loretta Girolmetti and Frances Winslow and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He is predeceased by his parents, brothers Matthew, Chester and John and sisters Nellie Leonard and Helen Mailhes and his own furry children.
At his bequest, there will be no funeral services and the burial will be private.
Because of his deep love for animals, appreciative memorial donations can be made to: The Wild Animal Sanctuary, 1946 County Road 53, Keensburg, CO, 80643, 303-536-0118 or Forgotten Felines, PO Box 430, Valhalla, NY. 10595.
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