George Edward Walters

George Edward Walters, 92, of Chester, died of natural causes on June 3rd at Hospice of Queen Anne’s County, Centreville, Maryland. Born on February 26, 1920, George was the son of John Quincy Adams Walters and Lilian Mae Twigg Walters. His wife of 60 years, the former Doris Isabel Legg, died in November 2006. They had two children, Harold Edward (‘Eddie’) Walters and Gary Legg. Walters, both of Chester. George was one of four children and is pre-deceased by his older brother, John Newman Walters, and his two sisters, Elinor Ringgold and Alice (‘Sis’) Ringgold. George was raised on Kent Island and, like his father and many other Islanders of the time, followed the water – crabbing in the summers and oystering in the winter. He only finished the eighth grade while attending the Chester School because his father passed away at an early age and he had to start working on the water to help provide for the family (he later earned his GED). He took a break from working on the water to serve our Country during WWII; he served in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theater. In his day, George was known to be one of the sturdiest oysterman and successful waterman. As an oysterman, he was known for working longer tongs in deeper water. And as a crabber, he and his business partner for many years, Billy Schulz, developed a reputation for enterprise and hard work, setting more crab pots on the Bay than just about any other crabber at the time and working around the clock seven days a week. Following his career on the water, George joined the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as a Natural Resources Police (NRP) Officer in 1965. He worked his way up to the rank of Lieutenant and captained the “50-50”, a State yacht frequently used by Governor’s Agnew and Mandel during their administrations. George retired from the DNR in 1987. In his retirement years, he enjoyed catching crabs from his pier on Cox Creek, making crab cakes, gardening, and educating and entertaining his grandchildren – Nicole (Haddaway), Jennifer, and Mitch. He also enjoyed his weekly visits to Dixon’s Furniture Auction in Crumpton (aka just ‘Crumpton’). He never met a tool (hammer, screwdriver, crescent wrench, etc.) that he didn’t like and obtained a few ‘spares’ through his many visits to Crumpton; consequently, he became known as the ‘local hardware store’ of Benton’s Pleasure. George is survived by his two sons, Eddie and Gary, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He was a great man who lived a great life and will be sincerely missed by his family and friends. Visitation will be held at the Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, Chester on Thursday June 7th, 2012 from 6PM to 8PM. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. at the funeral home on Friday June 8th, 2012. Internment will follow in Stevensville Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Hospice of Queen Anne’s Inc 255 Comet Drive Centreville, MD 21617 & Kent Island Volunteer Fire Dept. 1610 Main Street Chester, MD 21619

George Edward Walters

February 26, 1920 - June 3, 2012