Walter Elliott Switzer

He was born in March, 1932, in Port Huron, Michigan to the late Randall F. and Katherine M. Switzer. He spent his childhood and youth there, enlisting in the Marine Corps in August 1949. During his early enlistment, he enjoyed going to the shooting range, qualifying as Expert in both rifle and pistol for several years. Following enlisted service, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant while serving in Viet Nam in 1966; and in 1968 – 1969. He returned to the United States in October of 1969 awaiting retirement.

He married Peggy Charolene Ragland, originally of Trion, Georgia, in May 1952 in Port Huron, Michigan. During the first 18 years of their marriage, the Marine Corps blessed them with 21 moves to new assignments, including: Camp LeJeune, Jacksonville NC; Miramar, San Diego CA; Presidio, San Francisco CA; I & I duty, Grand Rapids MI; 2nd Marine Air Wing, MCAS Cherry Point NC (twice.) He served in the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis (was flown into and out of Guantanamo Bay from Key West during the Crisis), served three tours in Viet Nam - during 1965 to 1969, stationed in DaNang, Hue, and Phu Bai. During his last tour, he was with a Combined Action Group, which was U S Marines patrolling alongside South Vietnamese soldiers.

In civilian life beginning in February of 1970, he was employed by Stackpole Components Company (Office Manager and Credit Manager) and Exide Electronics Corporation (Purchasing Manager and Buyer.)

Following retirement in March 1994, he and Peggy travelled extensively together: taking riverboat cruises in Europe, a sailing cruise of the Mediterranean and visiting Rome and Ephesus; and vacationed in Hawaii, Arizona, Florida, California, New England, Nova Scotia and Michigan. They also cruised the Chesapeake Bay and Intra-Coastal Waterway, including the west coast of Florida, on their 36-foot cabin cruiser, Twenty-Twenty. The boat name represented his twenty years in the Marine Corps and the twenty years in civilian employment.

He was a faithful member of Crabtree Valley Baptist Church for almost 50 years, serving as a Sunday School teacher, Deacon, and Deacon Chairman many times. He was a member of the Sir Walter Gun Club, Lifetime Member of the NRA, a Certified Firearms Instructor, Lifetime member of the Military Officers Association of America, United States Power Squadron member, Hancock Yacht Club member, and member of the Marine Trawler Owners Association. In his final arrangement papers, he requested that his Marine Corps dress uniform (Blues) and accessories be donated to a young officer in need at MCAS Cherry Point, remembering how difficult it was to make ends meet himself as a young officer with a family. He also requested that his K-Bar knife that he carried during Korea and Viet Nam be donated to the Gunnery Sergeant of the Cherry Point Marine security detail.

Peggy predeceased him in May 2012. He is survived by daughters Sheryl Switzer Wharey (Paul) and Deirdre Ann Switzer, both of Raleigh; and grandchildren Laura Ann Wharey of Oxford, NC; Max Robert Wharey of Franklinton, NC; and Kelly Wharey Budd, of Tucson, AZ.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Crabtree Valley Baptist Church, 4408 Leadmine Rd, Raleigh NC, on April 23, 2024, with visitation at 1 PM and a service at 2 PM in the Church sanctuary. Donations, payable to Crabtree Valley Baptist Church, can be mailed to POB 30954 Raleigh NC 27622; other options for donations would be the UNC Pancreatic Research fund, Wounded Warriors, or Disabled American Veterans.

Flowers (preferably mostly white) can be sent to the church. Interment of the cremains at Pine Forest Cemetery, Wake Forest NC, will be a private gathering of the family at a later date.