DeWitt Waltmon

He was born on the 4th of August 1928, in Hearne, Texas, to parents DeWitt and Frances (Cummings) Waltmon. After his father passed away when he was two years old, his grandparents stepped in to help raise him and his eight-year-old sister. He often referred to his childhood in Hearne as something similar to a Norman Rockwell painting. He spent weekdays going to school in Hearne and would ride the train every weekend with his sister to Austin where his mother had taken a job as the Pi Beta Phi house mother at the University of Texas. This began a love affair with trains and the University of Texas. After his sophomore year in high school his mother remarried and he moved to Austin where he graduated from Austin High School.

At the University of Texas, he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. From there began a lifelong devotion to all things Phi Gamm, where just this past year he was awarded the “Diamond Owl” Certificate from the Fiji National Headquarters for being a living member of Phi Gamma Delta for over 75 Years.

After college, DeWitt moved to Houston to start a career in the insurance business. He began as an underwriter for American General and after several years was lured over to the retail brokerage side of the business and joined the firm of WL Doherty and Company. There DeWitt formed a lifetime partnership with Bill Doherty successfully growing their business over the next 40 years. Their agency transformed into O’Brien Russell and then ECCO General Services before being bought by Alexander and Alexander in the late 1970s. From there DeWitt served as President and Managing Chairman of Alexander and Alexander’s Houston office until his retirement.

In the early days of his move to Houston, he met the love of his life, Muffy Mosle, on a blind date. The romance blossomed for several years until one day DeWitt told Muffy “I think I’m going to ask you to marry me,” to which she replied “Well when you make up your mind will you let me know?”

DeWitt was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather affectionately known as “Dee,” “Big Dee” and “Papa Dee.” DeWitt’s favorite thing in the world was to get together with his family, whether it be his enormous “Waltmon/Cummings cousins clan” or what grew to be an enormous immediate family consisting of 35 children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. The family always knew that the two happiest times in Papa Dee’s life were when the family all got together and when they all went home! Every gathering began with a big warm hug and a laugh, and would often end with the comment “look at those beautiful tail lights!”

With family being one of the most important things in his life, it was even more special to know how many friends DeWitt had. Both from his generation and his children’s generation. He treated the friends of his children as if they were foster children. He entertained them in the early days with camp outs and cookouts at “The Farm” in Brookshire, Texas, learning how to water ski at Lakeway on Lake Travis, Longhorn pregame gatherings at the Villa Capri in Austin, party buses to football games, and hosting many memorable outings at his beloved river house in Hunt, Texas.

In 1979, DeWitt and Muffy bought their dream home on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt and proceeded to make memories for both family and friends alike. So passionate were they about this part of the Texas Hill Country that they hoped to be buried there together, but were disappointed to find the local rules of the Hunt cemetery required you to be a resident of Kerr County. So along with friends and family, they founded their own cemetery, “The Honey Creek Family Cemetery.” There they will rest together and continue to be close to their family for years to come.

The Waltmon Family cannot thank Elvia Maldonado, Kimberly Jackson, Brenda Booker, Sharon Austin, Corliss Ambo, Tasia McNight and Carlos Reynoso enough for the unbelievable devotion and incredible care. We hope you enjoyed listening to him sing along with the Mills Brothers.

DeWitt is preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Margaret (Muffy) Mosle Waltmon; parents, DeWitt and Frances Cummings Waltmon Swanson; and his sister, Mary Pauline (Chuchu) Waltmon Smith; brothers-in-law, Damon Philip Smith and Jon L. Mosle, Jr.; and sisters-in-law, Paula Meredith Mosle and Eleanor Mosle Hill. He is survived by his children, Lisa Waltmon Smalling and her husband Steve, DeWitt Waltmon, Jr. and his wife Karen, Kelly Waltmon Hatley and her husband Fowler, and Scott Mosle Waltmon and his wife Emily. He is also survived by his eleven grandchildren, David Smalling and his wife Tanya, Lanny Morse and her husband Casey, Kate Schneider and her husband Christopher, Amanda Chachere and her husband Michael, Matthew Waltmon and his wife Adrian, Austin Waltmon, Collins Hatley, Jennifer Patterson and her husband Blake, Travis Waltmon, John Waltmon, and Ben Waltmon; and ten great-grandchildren.

A recent discovery of instructions in an old file box stated that he hoped that his grave marker would say “Thanks, I had a good time”, and it will. The family will gather for a private interment at Honey Creek Family Cemetery in Hunt, Texas, where longtime family friend, Larry O’Donnell III, is to officiate.

Those honored to serve as pallbearers are David Smalling, Matthew Waltmon, Collins Hatley, Austin Waltmon, Travis Waltmon, John Waltmon, Ben Waltmon, Michael Chachere, Christopher Schneider, Blake Patterson, and Casey Morse.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions in the name of DeWitt Waltmon be directed to The Rise School of Houston, founded by friends Brenda and John Duncan at www.riseschool.org/donate-now, 5618 H. Mark Crosswell Jr. St., Houston, TX, 77021; or to the Phi Gamma Delta Educational Foundation at www.phigamma.org/donate.