Walter R. Day Jr.

Walter Ransom Day, Jr. died at his home on April 4th, 2020, at the age of 88. He passed peacefully, surrounded by loving family. Born on August 12, 1931, Walter grew up in Fairfield, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father was the head electrician in a steel mill. An only child, Walter’s passion for engineering emerged at an early age. When he was just four years old, he began tying strings to furniture legs and stretching them across his living room, telling his mom they were his “wires.” As a pre-teen, he started his own business, fixing tube radios for neighbors.

In 1949, he entered Auburn University, where he received a BS in Electrical Engineering and was an Ensign in the US Naval Reserve. After graduation, he reported aboard the naval destroyer USS James C. Owens and served as the ship’s Gun Fire Control Officer as it sailed around the world. Operating under wartime conditions and docking in ports from Naples and Aden to Ceylon and Yokosuka, his experiences at sea were some of the greatest adventures of his life. Once he completed his military service, Walter attended Georgia Tech for his Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering.

In 1956, Walter moved to Gainesville, Florida to start his first engineering job at Sperry-Rand Corporation. He met his future wife, Jane, shortly after moving there. She was a student at the University of Florida at the time, and they met at the First United Methodist Church. For some reason, Jane was under the impression that Walter was too young for her. Though he asked her out weekly, she continually turned him down. His persistence eventually paid off one day when she needed a ride to a party and asked him to drive her. That was when she found out that he was actually 5 years her senior and finally agreed to date him.

Jane and Walter married on Feb. 22, 1958, and lived in Gainesville, where their daughter Bonnie was born. They moved to Princeton, New Jersey in 1965, where Walter worked on the Atomic Fusion Project at Princeton University while Jane did advanced mathematics research at the Institute for Advanced Study on an NSF Grant. In 1966, the Days moved to Redwood City, California and their son Stephen was born the following year. In 1967, they moved to a home in Menlo Park, where they have resided since.

After their move to the Bay Area, Walter went to work at Litton Industries and became part of the first wave of Silicon Valley startups, specializing in solid state microwave technology for navigation, communications and electronic warfare. An inventor at heart, he holds 3 Microwave Device patents. In 1978, he joined Varian Associates, where he oversaw the design and manufacture of microwave products for satellites, radars, Space Shuttle missions and numerous classified projects. He joined Harris Corporation in 1990, working on the manufacture of microwave radios for telecommunications during the boom created by the internet and the advent of cell phones. He retired from Harris in 1996 but continued to work as a consultant for another decade.

A devoted member of Woodside Road United Methodist Church in Redwood City for 53 years, Walter chaired many committees, including trustees and finance, and served as an usher until just a few years ago. He was fascinated by military history, Civil War history in particular, and was a member of the Peninsula Civil War Roundtable and the Blue and Gray Education Society. He enjoyed attending many reunions for his naval ship, the J.C. Owens. He was also a great fan and supporter of the USS Jeremiah O’Brien, a liberty ship docked in San Francisco.

When Walter proposed to Jane, he promised to show her the world, and he did not disappoint. Over the years they enjoyed many far-flung travels, including multiple trips to Europe, as well as Greece, Egypt, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Poland and Russia.

A uniquely kind and happy man, Walter navigated life with a keen sense of humor and a great love of antique cars. If you live near Menlo Park, you have probably seen him driving his beloved green 1929 Model A through town. Strangers and friends alike would wave when he honked the “ahooga” horn at them, and nothing delighted Walter more than giving someone a ride in the Model A’s rumble seat.

Walter is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Jane M. Day, his son Stephen W. Day and his daughter Bonnie C. Day. He adored his family and was a wonderful husband and father. As Jane often says, “They don’t make them like that anymore and they never made very many.” He will be remembered as the ultimate southern gentleman, and his sweet smile, big heart and generous spirit will live on in all those lucky enough to have known him.

Due to the current coronavirus crisis, a memorial service will be held at a later date, when it is once again safe for family and friends to gather and celebrate his life. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Civil War Trust for the preservation of historic battlefields.