Brittany Yearout
News Editor
Unwavering faith, unflappable and a man who would rather be flying in the air than putting his feet on the ground — that is how Walt Fuller will be remembered. The 54-year-old Pepperdine alum died in a crash Friday, in which a Metrolink commuter train collided with a freight train in Chatsworth.
“When we couldn’t get ahold of my dad, everybody assumed he was just helping people,” said Walt’s 19-year-old son Casey Fuller, a sophomore at San Diego State University. “He would have been that guy.”
Walt, born in 1954, had three children with his wife of 27 years, Jenny. Members of the family said they feel that because of Walt and his strong faith, they have “peace that passes understanding.”
“We don’t understand how we can have peace in this tragedy, but it is a peace that is beyond understanding,” said Jenny, who graduated from Pepperdine in 1978. “It is because of our faith. We know he is with the Lord. We know he is doing a lot better than we are.”
Walt’s family described him as calm, stubborn, giving and passionate, and the glue that held his family together.
“Walt was an example of a father, of a family man, of a husband,” said Walt’s son-in-law, Ryan Loftis. “He was an example that I never had.”
He enjoyed flying, fishing, softball, golf, watching the Dodgers and the Cowboys and cooking beef Tri Tips. His daughter Kelly, who graduated from Pepperdine in 2006, said they had remarkable memories together.
“We would always go to softball games,” Kelly said. “We would always go to church. My dad always had Smarties [candies] to give to people.”
Walt was the air traffic control manager at the Burbank Airport and had been with the Federal Aviation Administration for 25 years. His zeal for flying was influenced by his father, who was a B52 gunner in the Air Force.
He would often take the family flying, according to Kelly. On his first date with Jenny, Walt flew her and their friends to Salt Lake.
“We would fly over the ranch where he grew up,” Kelly said. “We would fly over Simi Valley. I have distinct memories of this one time when we flew over the house, and my mom would come out on the driveway and we would ‘wave’ [dipping the wings from side to side). It was awesome.”
Pepperdine played a major role in not only Walt’s life, but his family’s lives as well.
“I think Pepperdine is part of the reason why my uncle was the way he was, and I am so thankful for that,” said junior Bailey Fuller, Walt’s niece. “He graduated from here, met his best friend here and people who are helping with the funeral are professors here.”
When he attended Pepperdine, Walt joined the fraternity Tao Rho Sigma and worked for the Pepperdine bookstore and campus security. He graduated in Dec. 1975.
Claudia Sangster, a Fuller family friend for more than 35 years, went to Heidelberg with Walt, she said.
“He has always been a fun, generous kind man who is going to be missed by so many people,” Sangster said. “It is a tragic loss. He was a good father, a good brother and a good son. I don’t think anyone could ever say a bad thing about him.”
Although Walt will not be able to meet his grandkids or be at Casey’s graduation in 2011, family members recognize they are left with great gifts from his life.
“He was part of a lot of the milestones of the kids’ lives,” Jenny said. “Other families on that train have much younger children or are children themselves … Instead of focusing on what we aren’t going to have, we are just thankful for what we had.”
The Fullers said they are thankfully surrounded by many caring friends and are just trying to take one day at a time.
“We have nothing to fear,” said Kristi Fuller, Walt’s middle child who attends Cal Poly.
“We don’t mourn his loss, because he didn’t lose,” she said. “We mourn our loss and the things that we are going to miss having him here for.”
09-18-2008