Donald Walters

Longtime professional retriever trainer and avid hunter, D.L. Walters, passed away on January 28, 2010 at the age of 82. D.L. was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa on August 24, 1927 as the only child of Cliff and Nancy Walters. The love of hunting and retrievers began in the Walters family with D.L.'s father, and their Chesapeake Bay retriever named Topps. Having been raised in the business of training retrievers, D.L. chose to enter the family business following in his mother's footsteps, as Nancy had established herself as a well respected dog trainer and industry pioneer. During his active years as a professional trainer, D.L. produced forty-six Field Champions, and many more of the dogs he trained went on to become Amateur Field Champions. D.L. had many accomplishments in his career, among them were: winning two National Field Trial Stakes; winning the Country Life Trophy for Derby dogs, and seeing a client win the Amateur National Field Championship Stake with a dog he had trained. In 1996, D.L. was inducted into the Field Trial Hall of Fame, an organization for which he remained an active supporter until his death. In 1948, D.L. married Mary Loraine Scott, and before their divorce in 1967, they had three children: Leslie Ann Nano (married Robert), Scott Alan Walters (married Diane), and Kelly A. Walters (married Kara), all of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. D.L. has seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He married Ann Astelle Fowler in 1968 and they settled in LaCygne, Kansas. Together they edited the book "Charles Morgan on Retrievers", for one of D.L.'s mentors in the business and later they co-authored "Training Retrievers to Handle" which memorialized his own training methods. Both books enjoyed much success within the world of retrievers. Ann passed away in 1998. In 2001 he married long time acquaintance and fellow dog trainer, Barbara Butler Stevens, and after years of splitting time between residences in Wyoming and Kansas, they finally settled in Sheridan. Together they shared a love of dogs, and a passion for the outdoors. Funeral Services will be held at 12:00 PM on Thursday February 4, 2010 at United Methodist Church, LaCygne, Kansas. Burial will be in the Star Valley Cemetery. Visitation will be 11:00 AM on Thursday February 4, 2010 at the United Methodist Church, LaCygne, Kansas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Retriever Hall of Fame,c/o Gary Lockee, P.O. Box 774, Grand Junction, Tennessee 38039.