Butler City Councilman Michael Walter dies
Michael Walter, a two-term member of Butler City Council and family man who enjoyed his pets, riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and movies, died Sunday at the age of 74.
Born in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. where his late father served in the Air Force, Walter’s family relocated to Butler when he was an infant. He worked in the melt shop at AK Steel, which is now Cleveland-Cliffs, for 32 years before retiring in 2000.
He went on to work for an automobile auction company in Pittsburgh and was working for Diehl Automotive as a driver.
He was elected to city council in 2015 and was in the early part of the third year of his second four-year term. He was the director of accounts and finance during his first term and became director of the streets department in his second term. In 2017, he ran for the Republican Party nomination for mayor, losing to Ben Smith.
“I’ll miss his sense of humor. I’ll miss his companionship. He was a good guy,“ said Barbara Walter, his wife of 54 years. ”When you lose your best friend, you’re going to miss everything.“
He enjoyed feeling like he was helping the city as a councilman, she said.
“He liked feeling like he was doing something good and trying to make things better,” Barbara said.
He and Barbara loved their dogs and cats, and consider them as extended family. Their 14 1/2-year-old golden retriever, Gus, died Monday.
“I can envision Mike and Gus taking long walks together,” Barbara said. She is a former president of the Butler Dog Training Association.
Barbara said he loved motorcycles and always wanted to ride, but he kept a promise he made to her to not buy a bike until their daughter, Jennifer, graduated from high school.
“We made many long trips on the motorcycle — Florida, Milwaukee, Canada. They were long trips, but they were fun,” she said.
They made longer, overseas trips to Scotland and England, and just recently got their passports for another trip to Scotland. The couple shared a Scottish heritage.
Walter enjoyed his “retirement job” working as a background actor in movies.
“He had a lot of fun. He has done quite a few in the past five years,” Barbara said.
He also enjoyed martial arts. Barbara said he started by taking karate classes with one of his grandsons and kept up with it even after his grandson lost interest. He trained in ninjitsu and earned a third-degree black belt. Recently, he had been practicing tai chi.
“He’s going to be missed by me and lot of other people,” she said.
Mayor Bob Dandoy, who served with Walter on city council before becoming mayor, said he and Walter became close after working together the last few years.
“We became really good friends. He was a really good man. I valued his counsel very much, and I continued leaning on that as mayor,” Dandoy said.
He said Walter switched from overseeing accounts and finance to the streets department due to his recent health issues. He said overseeing the streets department comes with less pressure than the accounts and finance position. Walter was helping develop plans to replace the roof of the streets department garage, he said.
Dandoy said he has received a lot of emails, texts and calls from people who heard about Walter’s death.
“He loved music. He was the genuine article. We always got along and enjoyed each other’s company,” Dandoy said. “He was a good man and a good city servant. Butler is the less because he's gone. He will be missed.”
Council has 30 days to appoint someone to fill the vacant position. Dandoy said residents interested in the position should submit a letter of interest by April 18.
