Walter Schilling

Walter Edward Schilling age 75 of New Hampton, IA, died Friday, January 3, 2020, at Colonial Manor in Elma, IA. A Memorial service honoring Walter's life will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday June 10, 2023 at the Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton. There will be a one hour visitation prior to the service. Inurnment will follow at Calvary Cemetery in New Hampton. 641-394-4334. Walter Edward Schilling was born April 2, 1944, in New Hampton, IA, the son of Edward and Marie (Morrissey) Schilling. Walt grew up on a small farm southwest of New Hampton. He was involved in all aspects of the farm operation. While hogs were his favorite farm animal, he enjoyed working with the farm machinery even more. One of his fondest memories was overhauling a tractor while in high school. Money was tight on most small farms in the 1950s and Walt’s family was no exception. It was difficult to get ahead with hogs selling for $10 per hundredweight one year, and $5 per hundredweight the next. Walt used to joke that growing up on the working end of a shovel taught him the true value of hard work, so he was going to college. After graduating from New Hampton High School in 1962, he was fortunate to gain an appointment with the cooperative engineering program at the General Motors Institute in Flint, MI. GMI was a GM owned and operated co-op engineering school which allowed students to support their studies in alternating 6-week work/study periods year-round, thereby obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in engineering in five years. He credited his ability to compete for such an appointment to the education he received at New Hampton High School. Walt’s career in engineering took him from working for Buick in Flint, MI to Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids, IA. He later moved to the Minneapolis area. In 1981, he left the Dayton Hudson Corporation to join the U.S. Postal Service as an engineer in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Bulk MailCenter in Eagan, MN. In 1988 he transferred to Anchorage, AK as the Manager, Engineering echnical Unit for the Alaska District of the USPS. After moving to Alaska he left the Minnesota Walleye behind and took up fishing for Halibut and King Salmon. When sport fishing regulations for King Salmon became so limiting, he bought a 5th wheel trailer and started camping in the many small state parks around the area. His other sports interests were mainly as a spectator, where he preferred amateur live venues over televised professional events. In Minnesota, he videotaped rough stock events for the Minnesota High School Rodeo Association and made tapes available to the riders. He enjoyed watching golden gloves boxing in Minnesota and served as a judge for the Thursday night fights in Anchorage. He would often stop by a local baseball or soccer field on the way home from work to watch a game. New Hampton always held a special place in his heart. After he left for college, he seldom got back to his hometown, but he never forgot it and moved back in retirement. While he was very frugal, he was also extremely generous in his gift giving during his lifetime. He gave gifts to the New Hampton Pool Project, the Chickasaw Wellness Center where he contributed the funding for the indoor rubberized track, and to the Dollars for Scholars at the New Hampton High School as a way of helping pay back the community which had helped him so much. He also gave periodic gifts to the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa for regional and local projects. In the later years, Walter took good care of his older sister, Jeanne Schilling. Before they moved to the Elma Care Center, Jeanne lived with Walt in a residence in New Hampton after she was unable to maintain her own home. Upon his death, Walt continued his generosity leaving significant gifts to Kettering University and the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa for ISU engineering scholarships for graduates of the New Hampton High School. Walt was survived by two brothers, Joseph (Barbara) Schilling of Jacksonville, AR (now deceased), John (Louise) Schilling of Los Angeles, CA; one sister, Jeanne Schilling of Elma, IA (now deceased); and his special cousin, Mary Eileen Breitbach of New Hampton, IA. He was preceded in death by his parents.