Walter Dobrick Alvin, 98, of Sturgeon Bay, was called Home to be with the Lord Saturday, November 18, 2023 while at the Pete and Jelaine Horton Skilled Nursing Center at Door County Medical Center where he had been residing the past couple months. He was reunited with his wife, Frances, who passed away exactly four years prior, November 18, 2019.
Walter was born February 10, 1925, in the northwest Chicago, IL neighborhood of Norwood Park, the son of Walter Carl Alvin and Violet R. (Dobrick) Alvin. He grew up in Norwood Park and attended William Howard Taft High School in Chicago. Upon graduating in 1942, Walter went on to study chemistry at Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH where he earned his bachelor’s degree (1946).
In 1947, he married Frances Sweeny Baumlisberger in Jeffersontown, KY.
Walter worked as a professional chemist his entire career, first in a general lab, then in an insecticide company, and for most of his career as a cosmetic chemist for several companies and his own company, Alvin Laboratory. He did product development, scale-up for production, production problem-solving, and quality control, sometimes as the lab manager and at other times as the solo chemist. Walter's jobs took his family across the country - to Chicago, Los Angeles, CA, Mountaintop PA, Oakland, New Jersey, Dallas, TX, St. Louis, MO, and Orlando, FL.
He and Frances retired to Sturgeon Bay in 1996, a place Walter spent most of his summers as a youth. (Walter's grandfather bought land and built a summer home there in 1925). Walter and Frances built their home on the quarry bluff overlooking his beloved Sturgeon Bay, Green Bay, and Sherwood Point.
Walter never had idle hands. He was a dedicated "do-it-yourselfer" and could solve and complete most household repair jobs. He took pride in building kitchen cabinets for his historic Pennsylvania home as well as the furniture. Walter had a passion for gardening, both vegetables and flowers. During his retirement years, he added more crafts: basket making, rug hooking and in his later years right up to his death, he made beautiful cross-stitch pictures and ornaments. Walter and Frances were avid bridge players and members of Sturgeon Bay United Methodist Church.
He and Frances were blessed with over 72 years of marriage. In their final years, they lived together at Anna's Healthcare CBRF (now Bayview Senior Care) in Sturgeon Bay.
Walter will be missed by his three daughters, Linda (AJ) Thomas of Des Plaines, IL, Cheri (Dan) Meyvis, and Gwen (Jim) Mitsche, both of the Town of Sevastopol; seven grandchildren, Carol (Joe) Campbell, Kate (Jamie) Mouton, Nate (Jessica) Meyvis, Matthew (Kimberly) Mitsche, Diana (Andrew) Millspaugh, David Mitsche, and Michael (McKenna) Mitsche; eleven great-grandchildren, Jack and Grant Campbell, Maxwell and Elliot Mouton, Robin, Charlotte, and Issac Meyvis, Sebastian Mitsche, and Lucas, Ethan and Maggie Millspaugh; and other relatives.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife; three brothers, Harold (Nancy) Alvin, Vernon (Virginia) Alvin, and Arvid (Janet) Alvin; and other relatives.
Walter was laid to rest beside his wife, Frances, in the columbarium at Bayside Cemetery in the Town of Sevastopol with a private committal service with Rev. David Leistra officiating.
His life will be celebrated with a memorial service in Sturgeon Bay in the summer of 2024 - to be announced.
Memorial contributions may be given in Walter’s name for the Chemistry Department at Wittenberg University (PAYABLE TO: Wittenberg University, Office of University Advancement, P.O. Box 720, Springfield, OH 45501; www.giving.wittenberg.edu, CHOOSE: "Department & Program Support", then select Chemistry; MENTION "In Memory of Walter Alvin" in memo) OR Unity Hospice (2366 Oak Ridge Circle, De Pere, WI 54115; www.unityhospice.org/donate).
“Our family would like to extend special thanks to Dr. Hogan and Dr. Hudson for their care for the past 30 years; and the staffs of Unity Hospice; Bayview Senior Care; and the Skilled Nursing Facility at Door County Medical Center.”
Huehns Funeral Home, Inc. & Door County Crematory LLC in Sturgeon Bay are assisting the Alvin family. Expressions of sympathy, memories, and photos of Walter may be shared with his family through his tribute page at www.huehnsfuneralhome.com.
