Why we exist!

On November 16, 2020, my son Walter succumbed to the Glioblastoma brain tumor he had fought for the last 14 months. While I lost my wonderful son, the world lost a brilliant business consultant, a fighter, an awesome friend, and most importantly a loving and giving person.

Walter's early life was one of abandonment, pain, and hunger.  At the age of 12 his father and I brought him into our home, and he has been our son ever since. He struggled at first with new guidelines and restrictions, but he eventually thrived graduating from Camarillo High school and attending and graduating from Abilene Christian University, in Abilene, TX, with a degree in Political Science and Bible. After college he moved to Nashville for a while but eventually returned to his roots in Camarillo, CA.

He began working out with a vengeance learning the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Boxing to add to what he had learned in Wrestling during High School. When not working as a business consultant, Walter could be found at one gym or another, but usually at KnuckleHeadz Boxing gym in Ventura (the cover picture is of Walter and Coach Janik, his coach and mentor and the owner of KnuckleHeadz). He took all of these skills and began to fight MMA when he was not working. I remember one day when he had to meet with an Executive at Sony with two black eyes from a fight, but he walked away with the deal anyway.

However, while he was passionate about fighting and business, his one greatest love was helping others. He was loved working with the youth in Ventura County to help out the less fortunate, be it taking them under his wing and mentoring them, taking them to church with him or getting them involved in the sport he loved, knowing it would teach them discipline and respect. It is this love that we want to honor with this Memorial Fund.

In addition to getting the youth involved in the sport he loved, he also encouraged them to get an education. One young man he worked with and became great friends with was concerned about the amount of student loans he was taking out, and in a perfect Walter moment, Walter told him not to worry about them, and that going to school and taking out loans to do so was the best investment he had ever made, thus reassuring this young man and encouraging him to continue on with his education to finish his bachelor's degree and continue on for his master’s degree so that he could become an addiction counselor and help others. This is just one of many stories you will hear when talking about Walter's great passion, helping young men and women overcome their past.