Connections Content 19 Mike Zaida and Laura Zaida, Walt’s children He was a listener, a thinker and then an influencer. He was a great person to bounce an idea or issue off of. He’d listen, ask questions, listen some more, ask more questions and eventually you would realize you had your answer and he never once told you what to do. He had the patience of a saint when working on projects. He could see a project through to the final minute piece being put in place. He would spend a lot of time thinking about the project and then execute as planned. He would tinker and finesse things that the rest of us would give up on and succeed in making it work. There are a lot of qualities (adjectives in no particular order) that could be used to describe a portion of my dad – humble, gentle, caring, concerned, thinker, doer, family man, conviction, faithful, subtle, humor (it was dry), frugal, leader, friend, generous, listener, meticulous and on and on. He was consistent; you knew when you dealt with Walt all these attributes were there in his core being it was who he was. He might modify the ratio he applied them in to fit the situation but genuine Walt was genuine Walt and I think it’s one of the main reasons he was viewed by so many as a great person, husband, father, grandfather and friend. He had a unique sense of humor telling lots of jokes to his grandkids. Later in life he really took to “Alexa” and her ability to tell him a joke every day at 9:30 a.m. Over the years he liked to work outdoors — gardening, tending fruit trees, cutting down and burning brush. He golfed, took lots of trips to Disney World, liked to travel in his motorhome, visited with family and friends, build things (he was instrumental in building 3 houses and a barn during his lifetime). Angela Zaida, Walt’s wife When asked how he was doing he’d respond, “Medium well.” I think it was his way of letting you know he knew there were issues without hearing him complain about them. Walt was the most interesting person I ever dated. He had a fine intellect, a gentle sense of humor and basic common sense and resourcefulness that, I think, came from having been raised on a small farm in Crivitz, Wisconsin. Walt’s father moved his wife and year-old son from their life in Chicago back to the farm in order to take care of his five younger siblings who were left alone when both their parents died at young ages. Walt always had strong ties to his extended family and yet he was able to easily become part of mine. All eight of my siblings liked and respected Walt even though that first Christmas, he gifted them with a huge fruitcake — something unexpected for people used to apple strudel and potica (Slovenian nut roll). Ribbing Walt about fruitcake was a family tradition for years.
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