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May 10, 1944 – April 3, 2025
Walt was born May 10, 1944 in Breckenridge to Walter and Lorene (Layman) Williams and passed away at home in Boise, Idaho on April 3 with his wife Tammi by his side. Walt graduated from Breckenridge High School in May 1962 and within weeks headed West with no clear plan. As he would tell it, he and his buddy Johnny got as far as Yuma, Arizona, ran out of money and spent the summer picking dates high up in the air in date palm trees to make a few bucks. That quickly grew old and on Oct. 11, 1962 Walt joined the US Navy Submarine Service.
Early on he was based in Washington State where he met and married Sandy Snodgrass in September 1964, eventually settling in the Federal Way, Washington area with their daughters Dawn and Tammy.
During his time in the Navy, Walt was trained in electronics and when his four years of Navy duty was up he joined IBM where he spent the next 26 years, retiring in 1992. He took a year off and eventually took a position at KeyBank in the data communications area because he realized that even though he was retired at 48, all of his friends were still working!!
Walt and Sandy separated and divorced in 1990 and on Oct. 13, 1990 he met Tammi Bourn who would become his companion (and eventually his wife) for the remainder of his life. Tammi moved to Boise in 1997 due to a job opportunity at KeyBank and in 2000, Walt tired of the long distance relationship and retired from KeyBank, sold their house in Des Moines, Washington and moved to Boise to join her - and fell in love with this city immediately. The weather gave him many opportunities to golf and work in the yard, and there were many fun weekend trips to the various mountains and lakes around and a LOT of time spent on the golf course with the friends he quickly made.
In the last few years Walt was physically limited so while golfing was no longer an option, he followed the PGA tour and loved to watch every moment of the final round on TV on Sundays (sometimes over Tammi’s objections). Walt was also a devout fan of the Boise State Broncos and the Boise Hawks, as well as the Seattle Seahawks and Mariners, but held a special place in his heart for his Washington Huskies and Dallas Cowboys.
Walt and Tammi recently added a new great-granddaughter to the family and he remarked last week that he couldn’t believe how much his little family had grown. He was so grateful to have lived long enough to see all of his kids and grandkids grow up, find their careers and passions in life and start their own families.
Walt is survived by his wife, Tammi Bourn of Boise, Idaho. His children: Dawn (Jon) Byers of Auburn, Washington, Tammy Stinde of Auburn, Washington, and Serenity Bornstine of Boise, Idaho. His Grandchildren: Katelyn (Clay) Felt of Tacoma, Washington, Courtney (PJ) Tiemann of Auburn, Washington, Kyle Byers of Auburn, Washington, James Ellis of Nampa, Idaho, Jeff (Rebekah) Ellis of Killeen, and Savannah Ellis of Nampa, Idaho. His great-grandchildren: Evelyn, Teddy, Addy, Allison, Grace, Charlie, Aspen, Aubrey and Ivy. His brother Ron (Melinda) Williams of Troup, his sister Daphna Vincent of Breckenridge, his sister Tammy (Joe) Jones of Dublin and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Walt was not really a spiritual person but he often mentioned to Tammi his hope of being reunited with his family and friends who had gone before him. We have faith that’s true and that he’s surrounded by loved ones and now without pain and the constant struggle for breath that plagued him for the past four years. At Walt’s request he will be cremated and there will be no funeral. Tammi would like to thank the St. Alphonsus Heart Institute in Boise for giving Walt so many quality bonus years after his bypass surgery in 2008. She would also like to thank Lauren Kenney at Cloverdale Funeral Home in Boise for her help and care with final arrangements.
