Walter, wherever you are, we know you were never big on ceremony and you’re probably bitching right now because we’re taking the time to remember and eulogize you instead of drinking at the bar, but not to worry… You’ve known us all long enough to know we’re not going to go very long without a few cocktails. So have a little patience with us as we honor your memory.

Some of us knew Walter better than others. Some of us saw him almost daily, others only once a year through our drunken haze at the annual Ritz Pick Me Up Customer Appreciation Party. But, to have known Walter at all was an honor and a privilege. To those of you who knew him best and longest -- Roland, Don, Gary, Donald and Ray – we can only imagine the depth of your loss and envy you for the time you had with him and the countless memories you shared.

As for our own collective recollections of Walter, when we think of him, it is with admiration and respect. Admiration for the fact that, more than 27 years ago, he and his business partner Alex created the Roosterfish, a successful gay bar that still endures. And, respect because they did so during a time when it was still difficult to even live your life as a gay man let alone open a business that catered to us.

Many of us weren’t around when the bar first opened in 1979, Yet we’ve all heard the stories about the community complaints, police hassle and city and state bureaucrats trying to close the place. But, try as they might, nothing and no one could stop Walter. Even when Alex died, and he had to run the place alone, Walter persevered. Whatever obstacle he was confronted with, he either found a way around it or more likely simply steamrolled over it. And, all of us here today, owe Walter a debt of gratitude for what it’s taken over the years to open our beloved Roosterfish and to keep it open.

The same perseverance he showed in business, he showed in his daily life. Age, illness and even the loss of his leg not only didn’t slow him down, they each only made him more determined to enjoy what remained of his life. None of us ever once saw Walter feel sorry for himself. Whatever befell him, he, like his Packard, was a classic that just kept rolling on. Whether it was looking 20 years younger in fabulous drag, matching us drink for drink at the bar or chasing and -- more frequently than not -- catching some hot young guy, Walter lived his life with the kind of style and flair that would make any gay man, whatever age, proud.

In closing, hopefully right now Walter is sitting next to Alex in the gayest part of heaven smiling down on us and the Roosterfish realizing that what they created was not just a neighborhood bar. Instead, it was an entirely new, distinct neighborhood – a neighborhood of friends and extended family with, of course, a smattering of current, former and, in all likelihood, future lovers, that would not have existed but for this wonderful place he and Alex created.

Walter, thank you for the Roosterfish and thank you for brightening our lives by sharing yours with us. We love you, we’ll miss you, but we’ll never forget you.