Walter Linn Stockard

Walter Linn Stockard, 89, of Alexandria, Virginia, died on March 1, 2025, at the Adler Center for Caring in Aldie. His wife of 60 years and his three sons were by his bedside until the end. A devoted husband, loving father, cherished grandfather, and dedicated public servant, Walter was a man of unwavering integrity, boundless generosity, and quiet strength. He was also known around the neighborhood as a real-life MacGyver – capable of fixing anything and everything with a roll of duct tape, a couple of paper clips, and a ton of ingenuity. With his epic tool collection, he was always ready, willing, and able to lend a hand. If something needed to be built, repaired, or improved, he was everyone’s first call – and he never failed to deliver.

Walter was the youngest of two boys born to John Mahon Stockard and Evelinn Virginia (Walcott) Stockard on January 25, 1936, in the District of Columbia. Walter was a proud third generation Washingtonian who grew up on South Dakota Avenue in Northeast. After graduating from McKinley Technology High School in June 1953, Walter started taking classes at George Washington University, where he soon followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him by entering into public service as a civilian employee of the Department of the Navy. Walter dedicated his professional life to government service, joining the Bureau of Ordnance in October 1955 as an Engineering Aid while he continued his education. In December 1958, Walter passed the Professional Engineering Equivalency Test while working in the Munitions Department of the U.S. Naval Inspector of Ordnance. He received his Career Appointment as a Mechanical Engineer in July 1959. Walter continued with the Department of the Navy for most of the next four decades, retiring in August 1996 as a Supervisory Mechanical Engineer in the Quality Engineering Department of the U.S. Naval Weapons Quality Assurance Office. Walter took immense pride in his work and in his modest contributions to the defense of our nation through his efforts to deliver the highest quality and most effective capabilities to the warfighter. Over the course of his career, he was consistently recognized for his superior performance, outstanding attention to detail, and unerring commitment to quality in the design and production of missiles, launchers, conventional weapons, propellants, and explosives developed for the U.S. Navy.

In the course of continuing his studies in the early 1960s, Walter met Sonia Marie Jenness, an “Army brat” born in Rapid City, South Dakota, while they were both taking night classes at the Pentagon. Their courtship started after he offered to buy her a Coke during one of the breaks and took off from there. They were married on April 4, 1964, at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina and together built a home in Alexandria filled with love, laughter, and faith, where they raised three sons and lived together for the duration of their marriage.

Walter’s sense of duty extended beyond his career – he was deeply charitable with his time and heavily involved in the community. He served as the President of the Belle Haven Terrace-Estates Citizens Association, tutored local students in Southeast DC, and led neighborhood recycling efforts long before it was popular. As a dedicated Cub Scout leader and Cubmaster, he also took great pride in mentoring and shaping young minds, sharing his love for the outdoors, craftsmanship, and self-reliance.

In 1985, Walter fulfilled a lifelong dream by earning his private pilot’s license, a passion that reflected his love for both precision and exploration. For years afterwards, he delighted (and

occasionally terrified) his friends and family with flights around the DC area and the countryside around his in-law’s lake house in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.

After his retirement from the federal workforce in 1996, Walter settled into a comfortable routine of tinkering and home improvement at his home in Alexandria and his family’s beloved riverfront property in Colonial Beach, “Ashley Cliff.” Although he rarely slowed down long enough to enjoy it as much as he wanted—there was always something that needed doing or fixing—Walter’s favorite pastime was sitting on the porch at the Beach, checking out the activity on the river (and occasionally rating the Navy’s work on the range upriver at Dahlgren).

Walter was a man of deep commitment—to his wife, his children, his work, and his principles—and his absence will be felt deeply by all those who knew and loved him.

Walter is survived by his loving wife, Sonia; three sons, two daughters-in-law, and seven grandchildren: John Stockard of Alexandria (father of Andrew, Alexis, and Aidan); Peter Stockard of Fairfax Station (husband to Susanne and father of Braden and Sawyer); and Kenneth Stockard of Fairfax (husband to Michelle and father of Henry and Dominic); and countless friends, neighbors, and family members who were touched by his kindness, generosity, and wisdom over the years. He was preceded in death by his father, John; his mother, Evelinn; his older brother, Jack; and his sister-in-law, Barbara.

The family will receive friends from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 14th at the Demaine Funeral Home at 520 S Washington Street in Alexandria.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 15th at the Basilica of Saint Mary at 310 South Royal Street in Alexandria, with burial to follow at the Fort Lincoln Cemetery at 3401 Bladensburg Road in Brentwood, Maryland.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Walter’s memory may be made to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which is committed to saving the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers: The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Attn: Membership Department, 6 Herndon Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403 // 410-268-8816 // cbf.org