Submariner.  College Prof.  Rural Fireman.  Scout Master.  Cold Warrior.  Lay Reader.  Volunteer.  A life in service.

Peter Eugene Walther wore many hats during his 95 years.   Born on Christmas Day, 1929, in the tiny town of Healdsburg, California to Louis Remy Walther and Maxine Harriet Wing at the beginning of the Great Depression, his family moved often as his father pursued work as a journalist.  The early years took the family as far afield as El Paso, Texas and Mexico City, where his father studied the economics of Latin America.  Peter attended ten different schools growing up but always spent summers on the family farm in the Sonoma Valley.  In his junior year of high school, faced with repeating Spanish class for the third time or joining the Navy, he opted for the service.

That began a twenty-year career where he rose through the ranks to Lieutenant.  His first nine years were spent as an electronics specialist aboard submarines stationed in California;  Key West, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina; with side trips to the Mediterranean and as far off as Pakistan.  The remainder of his career was spent in the Washington, DC area working intelligence gathering for the National Security Agency.  Early in his career, he married Valerie Jean Walther (neé Yule) and together they brought three sons into the world, Peter, James and Jonathan.

Upon retiring from the Navy in 1967, Peter and his family moved to Valerie's hometown, Missoula, MT, and he attended the University of Montana where he earned a BA in Secondary Education and took graduate courses in Education, Mathematics and Computer Science.  He also found time to serve as a rural fireman, a scout master, an electronic repairman, and as a lay reader at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in Missoula.  After graduating, he taught grade school locally at Hellgate Grade School, high school in Whitehall and Harlem, MT and finished his career teaching Math and Computer Science at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, MT.

After retiring from formal teaching, Peter and his second wife, Noel Trinity settled in Polson, MT where he was active in St. Andrews Episcopal Church, the Kiwanis Club of Polson, the Boys and Girls Club of the Flathead Reservation, and he gave anonymously to various charities and non-profits in the Polson area.  In the summer of 2024, Peter and Noel moved back to Missoula and lived at the Village Senior Living Residence where Noel still resides.  He died on June 20, 2025, at St. Patrick's Hospital in Missoula.

Peter was preceded in death by his parents Louis and Maxine Walther and his first wife Valerie Walther.  He is survived by his wife Noel, his brothers Jim Walther, Tony Walther, and sister Sharon Smith, his three sons Peter (Jaci), James, Jonathan (Doris), grandchildren Jesse Caton, Kalen Walther, Raina Storud, Dane Groves and great grandchildren Braden Caton, Avery Caton, Stetson Storud, and Dutton Storud.  The family would like to thank Sally Meier for her extraordinary care and dedication to Peter in Polson and Missoula.

A memorial service and reception will be held at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, 130 S. 6th St. E. in Missoula, MT on July 11 at 10:30.  Condolences can be sent to Peter R. Walther at 2903 Duncan Drive, Missoula, MT 59802.