Walter Edwards Aye

Walter Edwards Aye, a beloved father, friend and Tampa community leader, passed away at the age of 77 on November 29, 2024. He was born on March 24, 1947, to Ralph Claxton Aye and Elizabeth Schuchardt Aye of Tampa. His father Ralph was a respected physician, radiologist, and founder of Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa.

Walter is pre-deceased by his parents and his two brothers, Jeffrey and Ralph. He leaves behind his greatly beloved children Olivia Ralphael French Aye of Tampa and Walter Jeffrey Aye IV of Brisbane, Australia; his sister Barbara Aye McStowe of Wilmette, Illinois; his ex-wife Sara Miller of Bradenton, Florida and dear friends Sandy Juster, Marcus Castillo, Cathy McEwen, Howard Blackmon, and Colonel Allen Berg of Tampa; William and Christine Boehlke of San Francisco, California and Debbie Lanyi of Tel Aviv, Israel.

Walter received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, a JD from the University of Florida and an LL.M from New York University School of Law. For more than 40 years he practiced litigation and also served as an arbitrator and mediator in business and employment matters and international issues. He was an early investor in Ybor City and has owned commercial property there for most of his career.

While Walter traveled the world during his lifetime, his passions were always squarely rooted in the Tampa Bay area. He believed strongly in giving back to his community, and he did just that. He was at various points in time President of the City of Tampa’s Ybor City Development; Vice-chair of the Cuban Club Foundation; Chairman of the board for the Tampa Museum of Art; Director of the Florida Storytelling Association and a member of the Executive Committee of the Florida Bar’s Labor & Employment Law Section.

He came to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1965 as perhaps the only freshman to already own a home – on Edison Avenue in Hyde Park in Tampa – and he lived in that house his entire adult life. He was a serial volunteer for the city’s annual Gasparilla and was such a colorful central character in the event itself that one year the Tampa Times wrote an article about his antics titled “A Pirate’s Day – Aye-OK”. “I know some people say it’s run by a bunch of businessmen”, Walter was quoted as saying, “but somebody has to run it. Everybody is out there, the whole community, young and old, black and white, Hispanics and others.” He also said of the Mardi Gras type wild atmosphere, “If you were rational 100% of the time, you’d go nuts.”

Walter was a man of many talents and interests who lived life with an oversized gusto that energized all who knew him. He was a career attorney, but he got a separate degree in filmmaking at UCLA just because he loved the craft. He was a history buff who was always reading at least six books of at least 500 pages each at a time. He loved cooking and attempted to make chili from every Junior League cookbook in the country.

Walter was a hiker, a skier, tennis player, a sailor, a cycler and a beach bum. He had a special knack for enlivening daily cocktail hours and an unusual flair for dominating midnight philosophy debates. He knew a lot – or at least quite a bit – about everything.

Of all his myriad of interests – nothing fascinated him like his two children. They were the stars of his life and his reason for being. His pride of them overflowed. May he rest in peace, knowing that they will carry on his unique mark on the world.

Please join us in celebrating Walter E. Aye, from 12-2:00 pm on Monday December 9, 2024 at Acropolis Greek Taverna in Ybor City, 1833 E 7th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605