Richard Paul Walters, 91
Richard Paul Walters, 91, Clive, died March 5, 2018, after an extended battle with cancer. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 14 at First Christian Church, 2500 University Ave., Des Moines. The memorial service will be preceded by visitation time, beginning at 10 a.m. His remains will be interred at Westlawn Cemetery in Glidden, IA.
Rev. Walters was born December 15, 1926, in Des Moines, and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1944. He was also a graduate of Drake University and Lexington Theological Seminary in Kentucky. While a student, he served churches in Galesburg, IA, and Brownsboro and Sulphur, KY. Ordained in his home church, University Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Des Moines in 1947, he was the fourth generation of Disciple ministers in the Walters family. In his active ministry of 35 years, Rev. Walters served Christian Churches in West Liberty, Hampton and Marshalltown, IA, and in Minneapolis, MN.
After retiring, he served as an interim minister across Iowa from 1985 to 1993 at churches in Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Sigourney, Altoona and Delta (his great grandmother’s church). He also served as interim associate minister for the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest and was active in all areas of regional church life, including serving as President and Regional Moderator several times. He was instrumental in the development of the Christian Conference Center (Disciples of Christ) in Newton, IA, where he directed camps and conferences for 25 years. He was also very involved in community, ecumenical and social causes throughout his ministry.
In 2002, he became a founding member and first president of The Reserve on Walnut Creek, where he and his wife lived for 15 years in their retirement. He and Dorothy loved to travel and had visited all 50 states. In 1989, they drove the Alcan Highway to Alaska in their motor home, and over the years participated in 15 Elderhostels in the US and abroad.
Survivors include his wife of 69 years, Dorothy, of Clive; children: Rebecca (Becky) W. Daigle, of Westmont, IL, and David A. Walters, of Rochester, MN. His grandchildren are: Laura C. Walters, of Fort Dodge, IA, Alison M. Daigle (Matthew Erickson), of Chicago, IL, and Scott C. Daigle (Lea Potter), of Champaign, IL. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be directed to the Christian Church Foundation, PO Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN, 46206 for the Richard and Dorothy Walters Permanent Fund.
,Arrangements by Iles Funeral Homes Westover Chapel, www.IlesCares.com