Walter Lee Magness was born February 6 1935 in Louisville Kentucky son of the late Colonel Walter Bays Magness and the late Myrtle Ann McCully Magness. When his father went on active duty in the Army Air Corps and moved the family to Randolph Field Army Air Base (San Antonio Texas) Walter's lifelong love of travel and adventure began. His school years were spent in Indiana; Guam; Mississippi and Warner Robbins Georgia where he graduated from the Darlington School for Boys. While attending the University of Texas (Austin) he worked as a clerk at the Williams Charles Music Company where his insatiable appetite for classical music and opera began. After graduating UT in 1956 Walter joined the US Air Force where he proudly served until 1977 in different capacities as a navigator of C-130 transport planes Senior Squadron Navigator Training Officer Instructor Navigator and Military Science Instructor at Southern Methodist University. In 1958 during a stopover flight in Berlin Germany with President Eisenhower's entourage Walter met the love of his life Nina Schroeder a native of Riga Latvia. They married on September 23 1960 in a civil ceremony in Wiesbaden Germany after days of bureaucratic delays due to three languages: Latvian German and English. After their first post to Stewart Air Force Base in Tennessee they were transferred to Dyess Air Force Base where daughter Lucy Lynn was born in 1961 and a son Lee Alexander in 1963. The family later moved to Dallas and after teaching at SMU he was sent to Vietnam. Upon his return he and the family were transferred to Rhein-Main AFB in Frankfurt Germany where he completed 2 tours of duty and used every spare moment exploring Europe and trying to visit every opera house and birthplace of all the well-known composers whose music he loved. He returned to the states and Dyess AFB in 1974 and retired from the military January 1 1977. He obtained a B.B.A. from McMurry College in 1978 followed by an M.B.A. from Abilene Christian University in 1980 while working as an accountant at Anderson Clayton-ACCO Feeds. He enjoyed music stamp collecting old movies was an avid reader and history lover. He was a lifelong Presbyterian and a member for many years at Westminster Presbyterian Church. He was an avid supporter of music and arts in Abilene and a supporter and contributor to the Abilene Opera Association Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra Hardin-Simmons University School of Music and the Abilene Rose Society. Walter Lee passed away on February 28 2013 at age 78. He is survived by his wife Nina; daughter Lucy and son in law Edwin Hebron withgrandchildren Forrest Lee and Alexandra Hebron Mineola Texas; son Lee A. Magness Abilene; brother David L. Magness and sister in law Kay of Houston Texas; brother Major Michael P. Magness USAF Retired and sister-in-law Becky of Layton Utah; beloved sister-in-law Agnes Biggs and husband Dale of Midland sister-in-law Olga Boreland husband George of Stuttgart Germany brother-in-law Alexander Schroeder of Blankenburg Germany and many nieces and nephews in the United States and around the world. Visitation is 5:00 -7:00pm at North's Funeral Home on Thursday March 7 and Memorial Service on Friday March 8 at 12:00 noon at First Central Presbyterian Church Janice Six officiating and military burial at Texas State Veteran's Cemetery at 1:00 pm. Online condolences can be made at www.northsfuneralhome.com.