Daniel L. Walters

Daniel L. Walters, age 74, formerly of LeRoy, passed away peacefully from complications of diabetes on Saturday, September 5th, 2026, at Navicent Hospital in Macon, Georgia. He is survived by his wife Elena, his sons; Daniel “John” Dark (Willow), Benjamin Walters (Carrie), Matthew Walters (Julia), his daughters; Melissa Duke, Jessica Buchholz (Scott) and Stephanie Eggers(Jake), step daughter Natalia “Natasha” Zakharova, stepdaughter Mellissa Veloon, sister Brenda Rose, nephew Tyler Rose, and his grandchildren: Sommer Storm, Lily Walters, Charlotte Walters, Cole Walters, Jayden Walters, Lydia Walters, Gavin Duke, Alyssa Buchholz, Logan Todd, Spencer Todd, and Patrick Dvornek.

He was born on July 6th, 1952, to Banitta Josephine (Lehner) Walters and Gordon Victor Walters in Fond du Lac, WI. He was 15 years old when his sister Brenda was born. He was her built-in babysitter up until he moved out of their childhood home in Leroy when he graduated as a “cardinal” from Mayville High School in 1969.

Dan lived in many places during his lifetime. Leroy, Mayville, Kekoskee, Beaver Dam, West Allis, Belgium, Lake Tomahawk, then to his final stop in 2020 to Georgia with his wife Elena and his 3 dogs (Coco, Max and Mia) and 3 cats (Cougar, Cinnamon and Cuddles) who miss his dearly.

When he wasn’t working, he was an avid bass fisherman and loved the outdoors. His love for fishing started with his Grandpa and Grandma Lehner taking him to Rolling Stones Resort during his childhood. His dream was to live on a lake and have his own dock and boat. He was able to see this dream come to fruition when he moved to Lake Tomahawk in northern WI. He continued fishing throughout his life until he was no longer able to go out on the water. He also had a fondness for birds, especially eagles. During the time that it was popular to have a personal CB Radio his call sign was “Bald Eagle” which he also used within his personal email.

His other hobbies include deer hunting with his family and motorcycle riding. He belonged to Gold Wing Road Riders of America and became the Director of Chapter G in Milwaukee. He travelled all over the US attending GWRRA rallys and seeing the country on vacations. He spoke fondly about his trips to Seven Falls, Colorado; Lake Tahoe, CA; swimming with the dolphins in Cancun, Mexico; and Disney World in Florida.

He loved driving through the countryside of WI in his free time. His favorite song was “In-A-Gotta-Da-Vida” by Iron Butterly. In his own words, “I cranked up the volume on my 8-track player and cruised for chicks in 1968-1972. He also loved “Lil Red Riding Hood by Sam the Sham. He was known to sing it in the car, howls and all! It wasn’t widely known, but Dan taught himself to play the harmonica. When he wasn’t playing music, he would always have a baseball or football game on the radio. His favorite teams were the Green Bay Packers and the Milwaukee Brewers.

He was always good with his hands and would build things at home. He made bunk beds for when the kids were young and were sharing a room. He even went so far as to build a dog trailer for his Akita’s, Tashii and Kao, so they could go along on his Gold Wing motorcycle adventures! It comes as no surprise that he enjoyed the show, Home Improvement. He was our very own Tim the Toolman, minus all of the mishaps! From the years of hard work, his fingers had become so stubby that he couldn’t do anything in fine detail anymore. What a lifesaver it was to have an Apple iPhone where he could have Siri do speech to text and FaceTime rather than typing!

He had a variety of jobs throughout his life, the majority was spent working at John Deere (35 years). He was a jack of all trades. From being a lifeguard, working in a chicken hatchery, building fences, working retail, to driving vehicles and forklifts. He was also known to dress up as Santa at the local grocery store in Lake Tomahawk. The last position he held was as a security guard for the Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, GA. He enjoyed roaming the campus and greeting the students. You could tell he was proud to work amongst America’s future service members.

Dan is preceded in death by his parents Gordon and Banitta “Tootie” Walters, his daughter Lynn Marie Walters , his former spouse Marlene Walters and his brother-in-law Robert “Bob” Rose.

A funeral service for Dan will take place on Friday, October 9th, 2026, at 10:30am at Koepsell Funeral Home in Mayville with Rev. Traci Maass officiating. A visitation for Dan will be held there from 9:00 AM until the time of service at 10:30 AM. Dan will be laid to rest with his parents at St. Paul Cemetery in Mayville at 1:30 PM.