Gary Kelly Walton, 87, of Christoval, Texas passed away on Wednesday, December 2, 2020. Gary was born on March 16, 1933 in Albuquerque, New Mexico to Robert and Katherine Walton who were dairy farmers at the time. They later relocated to northern New Mexico where Robert supported the family doing what work he could find. He worked as a baker, built missile silos outside Denver, got cattle from Amarillo to Raton and even worked on the Hoover dam.
Gary attended Raton High School where he lettered in football, basketball and track and was later inducted into the Raton High School Wall of Fame. He also rodeoed riding bulls. He went to college at New Mexico State University and earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture. He paid for his education by earning a football scholarship, working in the school cafeteria and doing odd jobs. In college Gary joined ROTC and got his first taste of flying. He was so enamored that he walked away from offers to play professional football with several teams and went to pilot school with the United States Air Force.
He served for 30 years. For the first 20 he was a fighter pilot, something he truly loved. His service included flying along the Berlin wall during the Cuban Missile Crisis and later flying over 101 missions in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. He was a Squadron Commander and later the Deputy Commander of the Air Defense Weapons center. After 20 years as a fighter pilot he served as the Commander of the Joint Defense Space Communications in Woomera, Australia, then as Deputy Director Space Systems Operations in Omaha, Nebraska, and finally as Base Commander at Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas. After retiring as full colonel from the Air Force, Gary ran operational joint ventures for Frank E. Basil and General Dynamics, lead the turnaround of Rocky Mountain Metals, then moved to Christoval and took up ranching again but this time with goats because as he said, “…I’m never again dealing with cows, the dumbest animals on the planet…”
Gary was preceded in death by his parents, sister, Wanda Kamm, brother in law John Novick and nephew, Sam Walton.
He is survived by his son, Chris Walton and wife, Luana Lindsey, of Richmond, VA; daughters, Kathy Lakatta and husband, Alan, of Mansfield, TX, and Mary Walton of Round Rock, TX; sisters, Madelyn Novick, of Albuquerque, NM, Bonnie Yaksich and husband, George, of Raton, NM; brothers, Robert G. and wife, Shirley, of Raton, NM, Jack and wife, Pat, of Ramah, CO, Mike and wife, Karen, of Raton, NM, Robert H. of Modesto, CA and brother-in-law, Robert Kamm of Pryor, OK; grandchildren, Brandon Lakatta and wife, Kristin, Taylor Pettyjohn and Lexi Lakatta; great-grandchildren, Luke, Lawson and Ellis Lakatta. He is also survived by 24 nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Gary’s life will be held on Monday, December 7, at Johnson’s Funeral Home, 435 West Beauregard, San Angelo. Feel free to stop by between 6:00-8:00 pm. His final resting place will be at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or Boys Town.
