Walter F. Mayer, 94, formerly of West Hartford, beloved husband for 65 years of Gloria (Molnar) Mayer, died in Farmington on June 22, 2014. He was born on February 6, 1920 in New Britain, the son of Julius Mayer and Theresa (Ibitz) Mayer, both immigrants from Austria. He and his three brothers and three sisters grew up on Main Street in Kensington, then a rural town where he enjoyed the outdoors, worked on farms during the summer, and played baseball and basketball at Berlin High School. He was a member of the “greatest generation” who came of age during the Great Depression but somehow found a way to put himself through college in the 1930s with the aid of scholarships, summer jobs, and part-time work. Eager to serve in the military after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, he willingly gave up the draft deferment that came along with his first job in a defense industry, and was inducted into the Army shortly thereafter. During World War II he graduated from Officer Candidate School and was trained for mountain rescue work, but eventually served as a first lieutenant in the Medical Administrative Corps in England and France, supervising troop trains bringing wounded soldiers back from the Battle of the Bulge in 1944-45. After the war’s end, he worked for many years as Controller, then Treasurer of the New Britain Herald. He raised his family in West Hartford, inspiring them with a love of travel and adventure by leading weekly Sunday drives and annual vacations all over the U. S. He is survived by his wife Gloria of Farmington, two sisters, Margaret Becker of Newington and Anna Pac of Kensington, his son Lance and partner Gay Myers of Ledyard, his daughter Jean and husband Jake Kos of Shushan, NY, his son Bruce and wife Rita Malenczyk of Tolland, and his three grandsons Sam, Peter, and Nick .He was predeceased by his brothers Julius, Frank, and William, and his sister Helen Jehning. Visitation will be at Sheehan-Hilborn-Breen Funeral Home, 1084 New Britain Ave., West Hartford from 9:30 to 10:30 AM on Friday, June 27. The funeral procession will begin at 10:30 AM that day, followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 11AM at St. Brigid Church, West Hartford. Burial will be at Fairview Cemetery, West Hartford.