Walter Joseph Paquin, 87, died Monday from cancer at his home in North Albany.
He was born in Red Lake Falls, Minn., to Amelia (Cote) and Joseph Paquin. He was the youngest of three children and the family moved to Yakima, Wash., when he was a young boy and bought a small farm. Like many of his era, he worked from an early age to help support the family and make the farm successful. Tending fruit trees and caring for the animals, he developed a true love of horses with his father being a horseman teaching him to ride. This love stayed strong throughout his life and he shared it with his grandchildren.

Walt attended Marquette School in Yakima from elementary through high school, graduating in 1940. During high school he earned extra money working at the Yakima Herald Republic. After graduation, Walt moved to Bremerton, Wash., to work in the shipyards until he enlisted in the Army at the beginning of World War II. He was assigned to the First Signal Service System stationed in Anchorage, Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands, sending and receiving Morse code after demonstrating typing and decoding skills. He spent more than two years in the remote edge of the Bering Sea until he was transferred to Seattle in 1944. Walt enjoyed his service years; he felt he learned a lot about life.

Once back in Seattle, Walt married his childhood sweetheart, Bernadette May Juliette, on June 4, 1944. He was discharged from the Army in 1945 and, with a brand new son, moved to Detroit, Mich., near Bernadette's parents. In Michigan, Walt and Bernadette had four more sons and he worked at a variety of machine shops as a millwright. Bernadette was diagnosed with MS, and the family moved back to the west and settled in Albany in 1968, where Walt worked at the new paper mill in Halsey until he retired in 1989.

After just more than 50 years of marriage, Bernadette passed away due to complications of her MS. In 1997, Walt married his next love, Mary Bauer. They traveled throughout the United States, eventually returning to Albany in 2001. Walt and Mary were able to enjoy the past nearly 15 years inseparable. Mary's family grew very close to "grandpa" Walt.

Walt loved the ocean and was an avid fisherman for many years, and later in life an accomplished woodworking artist, producing lovely pieces of intarsia. Always busy, it was difficult for him to not have a project of some kind in process.

Walt is survived by his wife, Mary; sons Lawrence and James of Florida, and Joseph of Oregon; stepchildren Lola Bauer of Washington, William Bauer of Oregon, Barbara Bauer of Oregon, Kimberly Beier of Washington and Christina Adams of Washington; grandchildren Michael, Dawn, Reece and Amelia; and great-grandchildren Austin, Dylan and Marlin.

Walt was preceded in death by his wife Bernadette; sons Gary and Thomas; brother Leonard; and sister Aldia Barnett.

Walt was a longtime member of Saint Mary's Catholic Church, and a remembrance Mass will be at 11 a.m. Thursday in the main chapel.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Walt's name to your choice of charity.
A special thanks is extended to Benton County Hospice for their kind and considerate service during this time, assisting Walt to remain at home to pass on his own terms.