Walter F. Calkins

Walter Fred Calkins, 63, of O'Neill, died Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at his home in O'Neill.

A casual gathering of remembrance will be held from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 10, 2025 at Biglin's Mortuary in O'Neill with a time of sharing at 7 p.m.

Memorials may be made to the family for future designation.

Walter was born Oct. 30, 1961, the last child and only son born to Raymond and Doris June Calkins. As a boy he enjoyed playing baseball, hunting and fishing with his father and his Uncle Herman (Orsborne) and others.

From an early age, Walt developed a strong work ethic. As a boy of 12 or so, he made money regularly by sweeping up at his uncle Dale Perry's sporting goods store downtown. At the age of 15, he leveraged his employment at Stahlecker's gas station to get a loan from a local banker without his parents' consent to purchase his first car.

Walt always had a true love and admiration for his father. Upon graduating he considered following in the footsteps of his father, his grandfather (Walt Calkins) and his great-uncle (Chet Calkins) by pursuing the family profession of law enforcement. So, as soon as he was old enough, he enrolled at the Nebraska Law Enforcement Academy and became a certified reserve officer. However life took him down a different path. Instead, after graduating mid-term, he relocated to Neligh where he worked for the local CVA and spent extra time building grain bins. Walt returned to O'Neill a year or so later and took a job as a route driver and outside sales representative for Foree Tire.

Always the hopeless romantic, he finally found his match when he met Cora late in 1985. The two began actually dating in March and were wed on July 5, 1986. The following year they were blessed with their first child Candace Marie and he couldn't have been a prouder father. This was the final straw for Walt-- he could no longer stand being away from his family the three nights a week that his route required, so he took a job at S & S as their tire manager. Here he settled into a more normal work/home balance and just 18 months later he welcomed a son Raymond Walter.

Fate intervened as Walt's parents were forced to move to Fremont for medical treatment. Soon after Walt decided to move his family there as well to help care for them. He quickly found employment with Coast to Coast/True Value Hardware. He loved meeting new people and quickly became a staple of the downtown team of merchandisers.

In 1992, Walt and Cora brought home their third child, a daughter Cassandra Lee. Walt's true calling was being a dad. He always told people his kids were not only his legacy but also his greatest achievement. He loved taking them fishing and to boy/girl scouting functions. He never missed Thursday family pizza nights, weekend calzone dinners, football games, presentations, performances or school programs.

As Fremont grew, Walt decided it was time to leave the city hustle and bustle and took a job to set up a 10,000 square foot Ace Hardware store for Cohen Enterprises in Winner, SD. The family stayed there until the death of his best friend and brother-in-law Mike Lyons brought him home to Holt County in 2003. Walt made the transition seamless by taking a job at O'Neill Lumber Ace Hardware and later at Atkinson Lumber. Via customer interactions there, he landed a job with CNCS doing weatherization. He loved the contractor aspect of the work and traveling to several different counties in central Nebraska to assist low-income individuals and families. He took advantage to continue his education, acquiring several certifications for lead paint, construction, HVAC, window installation and insulation practices.

Health issues relating to diabetes led him to retire early in 2014. This was a true blessing, affording him extra time to spend spoiling his grandchildren. There was truly nothing he enjoyed more than holding babies, pushing swings, giving horseback rides in the front room, rocking kids to sleep or rolling around on the ground rough-housing.

In 2021, Walt was drawn in by family and friends to accept a position as part-time maintenance for McDonalds in O'Neill. To be honest, he didn't love the 4 a.m. start time, but he did love the work, cracking jokes with the staff and customers and getting off at 11 a.m. to pursue his new passion for gardening or just tinkering in his shop. Little did anyone realize that this would be short lived as he was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in October of 2023. The tumor in his jaw led to multiple surgical interventions, feeding tubes, infections and radiation. Plagued with difficulties, the cancer spread to his lungs and immunotherapy was unsuccessful. When faced with only a 50/50 prognosis of seeing 2026 with chemo, he chose to discontinue treatment and enjoy his remaining days with friends, family and especially his grandchildren.

Walt passed peacefully in his home, surrounded by love and affection. He leaves behind a lasting legacy of love and laughter to all who knew him — he will be dearly missed and will never be forgotten.

Walt is survived by his wife of 39 years Cora Calkins of O'Neill; three children Candace (Richard) Fyock of O'Neill, Raymond Calkins and Cassandra (Cody) Buxton, all of Page; the loves of his life, his six grandchildren Adelle Ray, Eli Eisley, Nora Marie, Warren Conrad, Walter Horace and Margaret Aila; two sisters Lettie (Tony) Edwards of Genoa and Alicia (Duane) Lauridsen of Spencer; and many other friends and relatives.

He was preceded in death by his parents Raymond and Doris June (Perry) Calkins, two sisters Dawn Muff and Reena Stoffer and best friend and brother-in-law Mike Lyons.