Walter William Burazer

Walter W. Burazer, 89, of Charlotte passed away peacefully, surrounded by love from his family and in the arms of angels, on Monday, April 13, 2015, at Carolinas Medical Center in Pineville, North Carolina.

Walter was born on June 5, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, to the late George and Dana Burazer, immigrants from Zagreb, Croatia. His parents and older sister, Mary Burazer DeRosa (who nicknamed Walter “Lad”) preceded him in death, along with his first wife, Marian Doran Burazer.

Those left to cherish Walter’s memory are his wife of 20 years, Diane Winters Burazer of Pineville, NC; sons George (Mary); Gregory (Julia); Michael (Sandy); daughter Carol (Jack) Rhodes; stepfather to Jay (Connie) Winters; Paul (Kim) Winters; Patrick (Kimberley) Winters; and Jennifer (William) Cannady. He was “Grandpa” to Nathan, Natalie, Nicholas; Julie, Daniel, Paul; Jason, Adam, Spenser; step-grandfather to Jacob, Lexi, Gannon, Sarah, Ashley, Colin, Danielle and Emma; great-grandfather to Brett, Katie, Jenna, Will, River, Scarlett, Evan, Quinn and Logan.

Walt earned an Accounting degree from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio in 1949 and played the position of catcher for the college baseball team. He also tried out for the farm club for the Philadelphia Phillies, but eventually found his true calling as a field accountant with the Austin Company of Cleveland and as an auditor with the Employers Insurance of Wausau (Wisconsin). Moving to the Charlotte, NC area in the mid-1970’s, he traveled professionally throughout both North and South Carolina.

A devout Roman Catholic, Walter’s faith was center to his daily life - concern for the unborn led to participation in prayer vigils against abortion and Pro-Life marches in Raleigh and in Charlotte. He was a regular adorer at the Perpetual Adoration Chapel at St. Gabriel’s Church, as well as First Saturday services at Belmont Abbey.

Besides his love of baseball and the Cleveland Indians, he enjoyed tennis, chess and Charlotte Knights games, as well as taking his family “out on the town” around downtown Charlotte to restaurants and arts events.

Visitation service, beginning with recitation of the Rosary, will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at the McEwen Funeral Chapel, 10500 Park Road, Charlotte, NC 28210. The funeral Mass for Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 16, 2015 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 6828 Old Reid Road, Charlotte, NC 28210. Interment will be at Sharon Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Charlotte.

Online condolences may be left at www.McEwenPinevilleChapel.com