Walter Franklin Sheble

Walter Franklin Sheble (1926-2023), of Washington D.C., formerly of Chevy Chase MD and West Tisbury MA, passed away on Feb. 9th after a long and valiant struggle with dementia. Born in Chestnut Hill, Pa to Franklin and Harriet (Smith) Sheble, Walter graduated from Germantown Academy, the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, and George Washington University ( J.D. & L.L.M). He enjoyed and excelled in his academic life, making friendships that lasted a lifetime.

At one of those friend’s apartment, Walter found himself playing a board game with a young nurse from Delaware, Nancy Lee Altemus. They were married for 67 years.

As chair of the DC chapter of the Junior Bar Association, he testified at Congressional hearings to establish the Federal Public Defenders Office, voting rights for residents in the District of Columbia and access to retirement benefits for the self-employed.

Walter worked as an advance man in the presidential candidacies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and was a consultant to the President from 1961-1963. As Special Assistant to the Postmaster General, he negotiated with the Soviet Union and North Vietnam to get packages to U.S. prisoners of war in Hanoi.

Walter ended his law career at the Inter-American Development Bank (1970-1988), where he was known as a beloved and quirky mentor to the young lawyers he hired. In his retirement Walter continued with his volunteer projects including a long stay on the New England College Board of Trustees and as a commissioner for Chevy Chase Village.

Walter was an avid gardener of vegetables and flowers. He loved to wander with his children (and his binoculars) along trails in Ireland, Switzerland, the C&O canal and on the many beaches of Martha’s Vineyard. He loved birds and battled on their behalf with the squirrels at his feeders. Walter had faith in a loving God whom he found in those wild places as much as in the churches he regularly attended.

There are no words to accurately describe this brilliant, progressive, and colorful man. When language failed Walter in the last years of his life, he still kept two sentences which he used liberally with his caretakers or when he lifted his wife’s hand to kiss it: “Thank-you” and “I love you”.

Walter will be missed by his wife, Nancy; his son, Brooke Sheble (Washington, D.C.), his daughter Rebecca Sheble-Hall and son-in-law Alexander Sheble-Hall (Dover Ma); his daughter Meggan Sheble (Washington D.C); his grandchildren Rory and Tim Sheble-Hall; his nieces and other extended family who have lovingly supported Walter and Nancy through these last hard years. Special thanks to his caregivers at Forrest Side for their kindness. Walter was predeceased by his beloved brother, Jack Sheble.

A service to celebrate Walter’s life will take place this Spring. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Chaplains on the Way, a ministry of accompaniment for people experiencing homelessness. https://www.chaplainsontheway.us.