"People will forget what you said, they will forget what you did.. but they will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelou

Wally was my best friend's dad and growing up, always made me feel like his second daughter. He drove us to the mall, picked us up from dance and got a kick out of how impressed we were with his epic animal drawings. When it was time for me to buy my first home, he became my real estate agent... taking me through many homes until I found the right one. He patiently explained mortgages, insurance and all of the grown up things that I would need to know. When Jason and I bought our second home, he did it all over again. He reassured us all the way through, helping us make those big decisions by giving us the best fatherly advice he could. ​After one of our meetings, he insisted that we go out for lunch after. He took me to his favourite bakery and we sat there for a while chatting about life, then he sent me home with a box of desserts for my family. He loved catching up and spending quality time with the people that he cared about; always listening with his eyes and fully present in the moment.

While his time here on Earth wasn't nearly long enough, Wally lived his life meaningfully, intentionally and full of love, making an impact on all those who knew him. I will always remember him for his warm smile, bear hugs and his generous heart. Rest easy Unc, and may you fly with the angels until we see you again. xoxo

My condolences to Janet, Ashley and the whole family.

Uncle Wally was more then a family friend to me, he was my ‘other dad’. He has been in my life for as long as I can remember. In my early years he would spend many nights eating dinner with my family, or hanging out at our home. Ashley, my brother and I would create performances for our parents and our evenings were always filled with so much fun and laughter. Uncle Wally was always such a happy soul. He always had interesting things to share, and always took an interest in the details of my life, asking questions and making sure I was doing well. Our families spent countless times together whether it was at the cottage, travelling, or nights at home having dinner. I am forever grateful that Uncle Wally was able to attend my wedding and meet the love of my life. As I sat last night watching back my wedding video, I watched as I entered the room as husband and wife, and what put a smile on my face was watching Uncle Wally video tape the moment on his phone. He had such a smile on his face. I could tell he was truly happy for me. One of my last memories was when I sent him a happy Father’s Day message. He gracefully thanked me but told me since I was recently married and gained a new father, that he didn’t mind stepping back to dad #3. He always knew how to make me laugh and put a smile on my face.

He will forever be missed.

RIP Uncle Wally (my other dad)

Love always,

Steph and David Dal Bello

My brother, Wally was such an inquisitive child. If he wasn`t taking something apart, he was putting something together. He had a natural curiosity regarding anything electronic. At 12 years old he built Mom an Intercom System and a Radio for himself. He would spend endless hours in Dad`s workshop.

Wally spent weekends helping Dad fix up the "cottage" with many of our friends. We have wonderful memories of all the fun we had together at the "cottage".

We have a close family and our times together have been precious. Wally loved his family and family was always his priority.

Wally was kind, he was happy and he was so generous of spirit. Wally really enjoyed the life he lived.

People were drawn to Wally and once you were his friend you became a friend for life.

Wally was an amazing father, grandfather, brother uncle and son . He truly cherished his loving wife, Janet and their love story will never be forgotten.

I know you`re with Mom, Dad and Stan now "Sonny Boy". You are my sweet Baby Brother forever Wally.

Loving you always, Irene (Sis)

Anne and I are saddened over Wally’s passing. As a long time friend, Wally was the most empathetic person I’ve known. I never heard a discouraging word from him. He was my go to guy when you needed anything repaired, whether electronic or mechanical Wally always seemed to know something about everything.

I have fond memories of Wally and I driving to the Woodward annual classic car cruise in Detroit, Michigan; staying at his cousin’s for the weekend, and then driving to Flint to pickup car parts for his Firebird. I have memories of the endless car cruises we attended over the years. Knowing I was a Blue Jays fan, I have memories of Wally inviting me to hear the Rotary guest speaker, Jerry Howarth, talk about the baseball team.

Wally was to me a true, genuine, lifelong friend and I will miss him. Anne and I send our heartfelt condolences to Janet, Ashley, Helen, Irene and their families.

Phil and Anne Magnoli

To Ashley, Janet and family. I was so shocked and saddened to hear of Wally's passing. Though I haven't seen him in the many years since I left Markham, I'm feeling the news of his loss deeply. He was a fellow Rotarian and friend. Wally always got so much enjoyment from life, loved his car and his family so much. I have lots of memories but my favourite is this day when we took him sailing on Lake Simcoe (c.2000). He was like a kid on his first ride at an amusement park and we called him Captain Wally all day. He was a special person and he will be missed. Christine and Grace Ceballo

A friend for life indeed was Wally. We were the kids on Galt Avenue running into each others houses, parented by each others Mom’s and stayed in each others lives forever. Wally did have an electrical magic and Rose and I met for the first time at the Buczkowski home on Galt where Wally had a hand in introducing us to each other for a life time of memories. For all who knew and loved Wally, he was so easy going, loved his family to the moon and back and always made time for his friends. As kids, we were everything kids should be -- corgi toy racers, mad scientists, exceptional inventors (you can’t steer a toboggan with skis screwed on the bottom), secret agents (Wally was always Illia Kuryakin), Toronto explorers, ball hockey hacks, bicycle stunters, dairy queen groupies, occasional family tormenters (but in a good way), cottage breakers and builders, all night drive-in enthusiasts and too many other things to list. As men, we were still kids together, whenever an opportunity presented itself. Our Boys to Men journey was wondrous. Wally was, and will forever be, a major part of the good in all of the Galt boys. We are forever grateful for the memories Wally and his loving family has shared with us and extend our heartfelt sympathies to Janet, Ashley, Helen, Irene, their families and his entire circle of friends.

May our dear Wally rest in peace.

Rose and Stephen Murray

I have such wonderful memories of my “baby bro” Wally. You were such a little imp, but always curious and taught yourself about electricity and electronics before we even knew what they were about. Your contraptions throughout our childhood were famous .... wires, buzzers, buttons, lights coming on and off .... then building things, with or without our Dad’s knowledge or help. Everything you had, you adapted and added features to it.

Then when I had my babies, Melissa and Adam, you doted on them, played with them (you did like toys), and I think we’ll take credit for your practicing on my kids, that made you into the amazing Father you were to Ashley, and wonderful Dziadzio to so many little ones.

The friendships you made were forever and everyone loved and respected you. You had such charisma that you held on to your childhood friends, hockey friends, work friends, car buff friends, Rotary friends, and all of our friends too .... and the list goes on. You were there to help always, be it to renovate something, fix computer glitches, babysit, or just drop by for a visit and a coffee. Your gift for gab was famous, and you knew so much about so much!!

You were such a good son, always helping Dad, and especially to our Mom in her last years. You were Dad’s shadow, and Mom’s light. Such an amazing brother to (Stan), Irene and me, and Uncle to Melissa, Adam, Erica and Monica, Uncle-in-law to Matthew and Lynne, and to so many more cousins’ and friends’ kids who also loved their Uncle Wally.

Your love for Janet was truly inspirational, and we often teased you two “lovebirds”, but we were thrilled for you both to have this tenderness and togetherness you so cherished.

Unfortunately Covid robbed you of all the visits you most certainly would have been inundated with .... and could have been a welcome distraction from the cancer you so bravely fought. There are no words to voice our gratitude to Janet, who cared for you with such devotion and fought with such strength to make sure every avenue of treatment was available to you. Your love for each other was epic, two amazing people who did everything together, and for each other.

Our memories will keep you alive in our hearts forever. We will toast you, and be comforted in knowing you are safe in heaven. But, oh, how you will be missed.

Your Sis. ❤️

I've known Wally since 1976 meeting him at Electro Sonic where we both worked. We both came from Polish backgrounds so we got along very well. Wally was the "knowledgeable" one who knew everything about electronics. He was a bit of a mentor you could say. We kept in contact through messaging a bit and I was fortunate to see him a few years ago. Wally always had a great smile and was never afraid to share it. So sad to hear about this wonderful person. I didn't have an old photo, but found this one from his Facebook page that I liked.