On Friday, July 24, 2020, Walter John Breede, III, loving husband and father of five children passed away at the age of 79. Walter was born on March 2, 1941, in White Plains, New York, to Walter and Mary Breede. He was commissioned into the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1963 and served honorably until his retirement from active duty in 1989. On June 8, 1963, he married Elizabeth Jane Johnson. They raised two daughters, Karen Vesey and Anne Marie Rowe, and three sons, Mark, David, and Erik. Walter's career in the Marine Corps included a tour in Vietnam, two assignments as the Naval attaché in Ankara, Turkey, and culminated with an assignment as the first Director of the Marine Corps Intelligence Command in Quantico, Virginia. He received his master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and among his multiple military honors, Walter received the Legion of Merit, the highest military medal awarded during peacetime. Upon retirement, Walter found his two passions outside of his family: teaching and writing. Walter spent nearly 20 years teaching math to middle and high school students in Virginia and Florida. In 1996, he participated in the Olympic Torch Relay, carrying the torch for the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. After retiring from full-time teaching, Walter wrote and published a series of novels based, in part, on his own career and family.

Walter was preceded in death by his father, Walter, his mother, Mary, and his sister, Barbara. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, his five children, seven grandchildren, his sisters Ellen and Nancy, his brother Matthew, and several nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at Serenity Meadows in Riverview, Florida. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Wounded Warrior Project at woundedwarriorproject.org.