Walter Fulton Whittimore Hay III

Although he hobnobbed with Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, Calvin Klein and the Kennedys his real love affair wasn’t with society it was with the State of Maine ; he was an outdoors man at heart . Walter F. W. Hay III , died peacefully at his home on January 2 ,2024 , in Portland , Maine, where he was born , after spending the Christmas holidays with his family. A champion skier, he won the prestigious Nissen Cup, for being Maine’s Best Freestyle Skier when he was a teenager at Pleasant Mountain. He was also an avid golfer, sailor and mountain climber. Walter attended local schools including Gould Academy in Bethel Maine and the American University in Washington D.C. Walter was an aspiring pilot who proudly served his country in the United States Air Force in the 1970’s . He went on to hone his business and hospitality skills at The Continental Hotel in Aspen, Colorado and The Montauk Yacht Club in the Hamptons. In NYC he donated his time to serving the homeless at the Cathedral of St John the Divine and distributed meals for God’s Love We Deliver to people too sick to shop or cook for themselves.

Walter had deep roots in Maine; he was a member of the Mayflower Society and through his maternal grandmother R. Louise Sparrow Couri was descended from Mayflower passengers Governor William Bradford , William Brewster and Steven Hopkins who signed the Declaration of Independence. His great grandfather Harry F. G. Hay was the Mayor of Westbrook, Maine and his paternal grandmother Alice White Hay was a concert pianist, who graduated from the Juilliard School and was the President of Portland’s Rossini Club, founded in 1869. His mother, Marylin Couri Hay’s cousins, Elaine and John Couri founded the Couri Foundation of Maine in 1989 which funded both Camp Couri, a summer camp for underserved youth and a senior center in Bangor, Maine . In 2018 the Couri Foundation donated the family compound Sky Lodge, built in 1929, in Moose River, Maine to Unity College. His father Walter F. W Hay Jr. was the Director of the Couri Motor Company and was on the board of Portland’s Rotary Club, founded in 1915.

In the 90’s Walter returned to his family home on Pleasant, Mountain and joined the investment team that modernized the Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire. In the 2000’s he owned and operated a restaurant called the Ole’ Café, in Fryburg, Maine before retiring to perfect his golf swing and become a companion to his mother. The pair spent their time skiing, fishing, hiking, golfing and boating from their mountainside chalet and log cabin on Moose Pond. Walter will be remembered by his loving brothers R. Couri Hay of NYC, Gordon Hay of Stowe, Vermont, and his nephews Brodie Hay and Tucker Hay. He will be buried in the Couri family plot at Evergreen Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland. Services are Private.