Lower Frederick Honors Ralph Walters and His Passion
LOWER FREDERICK PA – Before beginning work Tuesday (Jan. 24, 2023) night on its municipal business, members of the Lower Frederick Board of Supervisors and those in its meeting audience set aside time to acknowledge the passing of township resident Ralph G. Walters. Tributes offered by board members and residents described him as a dedicated public servant and ardent advocate of open space.
Walters, 88, of Perkiomenville, died Jan. 8 (2023; Sunday). He was himself a former township supervisor, former planning commission member, and involved in Lower Frederick’s first open space study in 2006, board Chair Marla Hexter reported. He “served this community for over four decades,” Hexter said, and “made many contributions.”
“His commitment to this township was always out front,” Supervisor Chuck Yeiser said of Walters, with whom he served on the planning commission for slightly less than a decade. Walters had a “passion for open space,” and seeing the township develop “in a logical fashion.” Preserving Lower Frederick’s rural character and landscapes were “always a big priority for Ralph,” Yeiser confirmed.
Walters was known in part for quickly getting to a point. “I always appreciated his candor and his frankness,” said current Planning Commission member Ernie Schmitt, who also served on the commission during Ralph’s tenure. “He always thought about this community,” Schmitt added.
He wasn’t all business, though. Walters possessed “a great sense of humor when you needed it,” township resident and former Planning Commission member Bill Smith recalled. Smith noted he occasionally contacted Walters “for his advice and perspective” on planning issues facing Lower Frederick. “They don’t make too many like him,” Smith added of Ralph: “He was a great guy.”
Township engineer Carol Schuehler had just arrived as a consultant when she met Walters in her work with the planners. “I admired how much he gave to this township of his time and his efforts,” Schuehler said, “and I’m very sorry to hear about his passing. It was an honor to work with him.”
Supervisor Terry Sacks remembered that his uncle and Walters served together as former supervisors, and took their government roles seriously. Together they accomplished “a lot for the community,” Sacks said. It was Sacks who suggested the board take a moment to reflect on Walters’ life, and as the remembrances ended Hexter called for silence.
It lasted almost a minute. “May he rest in peace,” she said of Walters, and then supervisors’ began tackling their agenda.
Photo by The Post
Other coverage of the Lower Frederick supervisors’ Jan. 24 meeting:
Lower Frederick Honors Ralph Walters and His Passion
Before Lower Frederick supervisors got down to business Tuesday, they and members of their meeting audience voiced tributes to the late Ralph G. Walters, a passionate advocate for township open space.
Lower Frederick Approves Melbourne Hill Settlement
Lower Frederick supervisors Tuesday approved a negotiated settlement for development of the Melbourne Hill Estates community on Route 29 at Salford Station Road. It gives the township greater control over the project, their solicitor said.
