Obituary of Walter R. Trespasz

Walter Richard Trespasz, a pilot in the United States Navy during World War II, passed away November 6th from hip-surgery complications. His loving family was at his side. He was predeceased by his wife of 60 years Carolyn Cruikshank Trespasz. They resided in Maplewood, NJ from 1966-2011. Walter was born May 9, 1922 in Warren, MA to Sophia (Planeta) and Michael Trzepacz. His only sibling Theodore was his best friend. Walter was in the first wave of volunteers after Pearl Harbor. He was accepted into the U.S. Navy for flight training. After an arduous 25 weeks he graduated from Pensacola Academy with a commission as Ensign and rank as Naval Pilot. He flew a PBY Catalina in the Pacific, patrolling the coastline from Alaska to Northern California. After the war, Walter graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, majoring in Economics. He graduated from Syracuse University Law School where he was on the Board of Editors of the Law Review. In his senior year, during a dance at Syracuse he noticed a beautiful graduate student across the room. He asked to be introduced to her. She was Carolyn Cruickshank and they were married the next year. Walter was admitted to the NY State Bar and started his career as a Tax Attorney for Western Union Telegraph Company. He then joined the law firm Hawkins, Delafield and Wood. While there he earned an LLM in Taxation from the Graduate Division of the Law School of NYU. After that he held a succession of tax executive positions with Schering, SCM, Westveco, Wager, and Lytel. He retired in 1987, but continued to do legal and financial consulting. In 2011, he moved to the Green Hill Retirement Community in West Orange where he enjoyed new friendships and set up a computer center that IBM would have envied. Walter was blessed with a powerful intellect, a ferocious curiosity and a determination to solve problems. He loved the New York Times, NPR and BBC. Although, he was never happier than when running off to play tennis. He was predeceased by his parents, his brother and his wife. He leaves behind two children Nancy (David) Blair and granddaughter Jadyn of Manhattan and Richard (JoAnne) and granddaughter Jennifer and grandson Andrew. He is survived by 16 nieces and nephews and their children. A memorial service for Walter and his wife Carolyn will be held at 4:00 pm Saturday November 10th, at the Ivy Chapel at Morrow Memorial Methodist Church, 600 Ridgewood Rd. in Maplewood. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the National Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org