Walter Raymond Mook III

Walter was born June 28, 1931 in New Brunswick, NJ to Walter R Mook Jr and Rayone Dietrich Mook.

Walter grew up in South Orange, NJ and moved to Millburn, NJ where he graduated from high school in 1949 and enjoyed playing tennis, squash and sailing with his dad. Walter received his degree in Mechanical Engineering from Steven’s Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ) in 1953, where his dad had also attended in the 1920’s. After graduation, Walter moved to work in a nuclear weapons lab in Albuquerque, NM. There he met and married Jeanne Cunningham in 1954. In 1956, he went on active duty with the Navy, heading up the manufacturing functions at the Naval shipyard in San Francisco. He was a lieutenant (junior grade), but reported directly to a Senior Commander, which led him into working on the Navy’s ballistic missile systems. After the birth of his first child Pamela in 1958, he joined Space Technology Laboratories, the firm created by the Air Force to ”get us into” the missile and space business. There, he served as the project manager for the design of the launchers of a number of systems, particularly to get those “big birds” (missiles) underground and to launch directly from “silos”. In the midst of all that, the company reorganized and created a new company called TRW. In 1960 and ‘61, while working for TRW and living in the Los Angeles area, Jeanne and Walter had two new additions to the family, Robert and Kenneth. Desiring a better location to raise his family, Walter moved the family to Redlands, CA. When “the missile program and Aerospace industry wrapped up”, Walter returned to campus life, completing his Master Degree in Environmental Engineering at the University of Redlands in 1972. He then started a new career in San Bernardino County as the chief of staff for a new agency for one of the County of San Bernardino supervisors. Under this new agency, he merged several departments into one to streamline the process of getting building permits, address water issues and fire services, and addressing planning commissions. His team received many awards for this achievement. Then he created the Environmental Management division specifically to address California’s air quality issue. He served as the Director of Technical Services at the State’s research center, then as Chief of Staff for the local Environmental Improvement Agency and “headed up” the local Air Pollution Control Agency (now known as AQMD) in San Bernardino. He also served as president of the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association. Walter then ran the air quality department of an international consulting firm CH2M Hill, finally retiring in 1999. Just after retiring, in 2001, his wife Jeanne lost her battle with kidney cancer.

Walter was very active in the Redlands community; in the Redlands Jaycees, on the board of the Redlands Baseball for Youth, treasurer for Baseball for Boys Inc, recreation chairman for the Redlands PTA, president of “Friends of Class of 80”and served 3 terms as president of the Redlands Horticultural and Improvement Society. His garden had been featured on the RHIS spring garden tour. He was a long time Redlands symphony season ticket holder, and a member of the Redlands Historical Society and the Museum of Redlands. He also participated in the Celebrate Redlands committee for several years. He supported many charities such as ASPCA and Special Olympics.

In 2006, Walter met Mary Nava, through their mutual love of horticulture, and they were married on Oct. 6, 2007 in Mary’s garden in Yucaipa, CA. Their gardens and fruit orchards (the only citrus grove in Yucaipa) were featured on several of the Yucaipa Iris Festival Garden tours and the Yucaipa Women’s club Christmas home tour.

During retirement, Walter quietly began the construction of a model railroad. He built many model railroad buildings and had acquired a large assortment of HO train engines and train cars all representing a vintage turn of the century theme.

Walter was an honest, caring, kind man with a keen intellect. He had a never to be forgotten smile even on his worst day. He had a remarkable sense of business and Mechanical/environmental engineering which enabled him to run many organizations.

Walter leaves behind his wife, Mary Mook, his sister, nephew and niece, Lyn, Jim and Joan Caufield, his half-sister Dosha Mook, his daughter, Pamela Foley, his sons and their wives Robert (Rosalinda) Mook and Kenneth (Charisse) Mook, his step sons and their wives David (Christine) Nava and Peter (Jade Huynh) Nava, his 8 grandchildren, Connor (Georgia), Miranda, Mariah, Alexander, Roger (Andrea), Kristy (Nick), Aubrey, Emma and 5 great grandchildren.

A celebration of Walter’s life will be held at the Great Hall within the Trinity Episcopal Church grounds (Built 1846), 419 S. Fourth Street in Redlands on February 15, 2025 at 1pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Walter’s memory to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Redlands Animal Shelter, or the Yucaipa Valley Animal Placement Society.