Walter "W.L." Lee Culver Jr.

Walter Lee Culver, Jr. "WL", of Birmingham peacefully passed away Oct. 15 at age 95. Walter was born to Walter Lee and Lena Culver on 7-26-27 in Clanton AL. When WL was 15, his father passed away; so WL and his mother began working at Merita Cracker Co to support themselves. At age 18, WL left his cracker sales route to join the US Navy during WWII and served in the Seabee Construction Battalion. WL was a life-long member of Hunter Street Baptist Church, which is where he met & married the love of his life Betty Leist in 1949. Due to WL’s Navy Reserve status he was called to active duty during the Korean Conflict and missed their first two anniversaries. After the military, a friend invited WL to ride along on an ABC moonshine still seizure. WL decided that would be a fun job and began a 28 year career with the Alabama Beverage Control Board. His greatest delight was the thrill of the search for illegal moonshine stills and then blowing them up! Betty and WL enjoyed many years of square dancing & RV trips with friends. In later years, WL discovered his gift of making peanut butter fudge and cookies which he generously shared with everyone!

Walter was preceded in death by his wife Betty, his parents, 2 brothers and 4 sisters. He is survived by daughter Terri (Mark) McCutcheon and son Tracy; granddaughters Meagan (Daniel) Murphree and Whitney (John) Schenk, and six great-grandchildren.

The funeral will be held at John-Ridouts Elmwood Chapel on Wednesday October 19. The family will receive friends at 10:00 and the service at 11:00 with Rev. Thomas Joseph officiating.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.johnsridoutselmwoodchapel.com for the Culver family.