Walter Victorine

Walter Victorine was born on June 30th 1925 on the family ranch just south of Mal Paso creek along the Carmel, CA coastline. Walter was a descendant of the legendary Victorine family that sailed from the Azores Island of Portugal to settle on the Monterey Peninsula in 1860 near Whalers Cove in Point Lobos. Walt’s great grandfather Antonio worked hard putting roofs on the mission to earn enough money to buy the first 100 acres of the ranch. Overtime the ranch grew to almost 1,800 acres and stretched from just south of the Carmel River past San Jose creek and included all of the Yankee Point area.

Life was not easy on the ranch. When he was six years old his father declared that Walt was now a man and could contribute to the family chores. His daily chores were gathering water and firewood in the morning and at night for the house. As he grew older he was responsible for hunting deer, pigeon, rabbits and boar for food. The family also ran a dairy, made and sold cheese, grew potatoes and vegetables for the family to eat and to sell.

Walt loved guns and hunting. At age six his dad taught him how to shoot a gun. Walt was renowned in the military and among his peers in the Monterey County Sherriff’s department for his shooting skills which he attributed to his father making him use match sticks as his training targets. The match sticks were hung vertically at first. After he mastered the vertical targets they were then hung horizontally. After passing his target shooting test, he was allowed to begin hunting rabbit and pigeons. He shot his first deer at age nine. Walt belonged to the Carmel Valley gun club and throughout his life many a hunter would come to Walt for advice, help in sighting their guns or to make custom guns.

At age eighteen, Walt graduated from Monterey High School in 1944 and joined the United States Marine Corp. After basic training, he was shipped to the WW II battle in Iwo Jima. Walt received the Purple Heart for wounds he received during the battle. After his recuperation period in Hawaii, he was sent to China and then returned home in 1946. Walt had an amazing ability to remember details. One example of this was when Clint Eastwood invited Walt to lunch to get first hand details of the battles at Iwo Jima that Clint used in the making of his film, “Flags of Our Fathers”.

After leaving the Marine Corp, Walt began working several jobs along the coast including working as a fire fighter for the Carmel Highlands Fire Department and for Senator Tickle repairing and maintaining his home which is the current site of the Tickle Pink Inn behind the Highlands Inn Hotel and Resort.

In 1951, at the age of 26, Walt began as a part time deputy sheriff with the Monterey Count Sherriff’s department. From his first day on the job Walt built trust and support from the community and his peers through his dedication to the job and willingness to help those needed help. In 1954 the budget for his part-time position was cut. However, with the support of the local community and then Sherriff McCoy, the budget for his job was reinstated and on May 1, 1956 Walt was sworn in as a full-time deputy sheriff. During his twenty nine years with the Sherriff’s department and as a member of the rescue squad, Walt received many letters of thanks and compliments for his assistance to visitors and residents of Monterey County and for the many heroic rescue missions that he led or participated in that saved lives. Walt retired from the Sherriff’s department in 1980 after 29 years of service.

Walt moved to Carmel Valley in 1966 with his first wife Debbie and their son Joe who was five years old at the time. Debbie passed away in 1970 following a long battle with cancer. Walt acquired two more sons and a daughter when he married the single woman next door, Marilyn DeSilva on May 26th, 1972. Walt and Marilyn celebrated their forty third wedding anniversary last month. “Sam” as he would call her and Walt enjoyed many good times together and took care of one another throughout the years. Love and dedication are two words that truly described their years of marriage. In 1978, Walt and Marilyn moved to Canada Drive near the mouth of Carmel Valley and in November of 2012 moved to Sunrise Senior Living Apartments in Monterey.

Walt was a charming and engaging person. He never failed to standup when you came to visit and greet you with a firm handshake and a smile on his face to say hi and welcome. His story telling captivated and intrigued you. He loved to sing and dance. Most of his songs, poems and limericks were “military grade” that could not be repeated in public. But a few of his favorite songs that he would sing in public were “You are my Sunshine”, “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” and “Deep in the Heart of Texas”. Walt also loved to dance. His favorite dance with Marilyn was the waltz. After he would wear her out dancing, she would sit and he would return to the dance floor to perform his own custom version of the jitter bug.

Walt leaves behind many people who loved, respected and enjoyed being with him. His wife Marilyn, his son Joe and wife Terry, his son Al and wife Donna, his son Todd and wife Patty, daughter Cindy and her husband Dave, Granddaughter’s Josselyn and Sarah, Grandson’s Matt and Nick, great granddaughter’s Sophia and Isla and his many, many friends at Sunrise and on the Monterrey Peninsula.

Services for Walt will be held at The Paul Mortuary on Lighthouse Avenue in Pacific Grove on June 25th from 4 pm to 6 pm. Friends are invited. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to Salvation Army or the charity of your choice.