Walter Lawrence Kabis of Odessa passed away peacefully Friday, Sept. 18, 2009, at his home. He was 95.
Mr. Kabis was born on May 21, 1914 in Newark, N.J., the youngest of four children born to the late Charles and Elizabeth Kabis.
He was married for 28 years to Kathleen O’Connor, with whom he had five children: Walter, Kathleen, Karen, Carol and Elizabeth. Several years after Kathleen’s death, he married Dorothy Andrews, then the Treasurer of the United States. Walter traveled extensively throughout the world including Egypt, the Near East, Europe, the Middle East, the Orient, and his favorite – Turkey. His hobbies and interests revolved around his family, gardening, furniture making, and the restoration of his home, the Corbit-Kabis House, in historic Odessa.
He was raised and educated in New Jersey public and parochial schools. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from New Jersey State Teacher’s College – now Kean University. In 1940, he earned his master’s degree from Columbia University, after which he completed the required coursework at Rutgers University and Temple University for a Doctorate in Psychology and Counseling.
Before World War II, his professional career began by teaching high school in Amherst, Maine, East Orange, N.J., and Milburn, N.J. After World War II, he taught briefly at what is now Kean University in N.J. He then spent 10 years employed at Governor Bacon Health Center in Delaware City as director of education, after which he served eight years for the State of Delaware as a supervisor in the field of exceptional children. He closed his professional career as principal of the Charles W. Bush School in Wilmington.
Mr. Kabis volunteered for the U.S. Navy as Ensign, and was later assigned to serve in WWII to convoy duty in the North Atlantic, where he saw combat action. After 12 crossings, he was transferred to train further at Ohio State University and the Florida Naval Sub-Chaser Command, and then promptly dispatched to the South Pacific Theater as the Gunnery Officer on the renowned USS England, DE 635. At the onset of the Okinawa campaign, his ship survived heavy casualties after being hit by a Kamikaze plane. After Hiroshima and the subsequent surrender of Japan, he was transferred to the Military Transportation Service where he earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander and where he remained until his full retirement. He was a member of the Ready Reserve U.S. Navy.
During one of his Turkish travels, he encountered a young crippled girl who captured his heart. A true humanitarian, he chose to take on her cause. With her family’s grateful approval, he arranged for “Ayfer” to come to the U.S. for nearly a year, undergo surgery and therapy at A.I. duPont Hospital in Wilmington, attend school and live at his home.
He was actively involved with several civic and honorary organizations/committees, including Epsilon Pi Tau National Professional Honor Fraternity; Comparative Education Society, where he participated in two studies behind the Iron Curtain; Governor’s Council on Natural Resources & Environmental Control; as chairman of the Delaware Water & Air Resources Commission under Governor Peterson; on the Youth Services Commission Advisory Board; chairman of the Odessa School Board; councilman of Odessa Town Council; State Mental Health Association; a mentor at Dover Public Schools; and, for years, he was very active at the Thomas More Oratory at the University of Delaware, where he served as Ecumenical minister.
He leaves behind five children; 12 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Memorial Mass will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at Thomas More Oratory, 45 Lovett Avenue, Newark, friends may call two hours earlier.
Burial with military honors will be at Old Bohemia Cemetery in Warwick, Md., at a later date.
At the request of Mr. Kabis, memorial contributions may be made to Thomas More Oratory, 45 Lovett Ave., Newark, DE 19711, Corbit-Calloway Memorial Library, P.O. Box 128, Odessa, DE 19730-0128; Water is Life-Kenya, 910 Baylor Dr., Newark, DE 19711; or to Delaware Hospice, Inc., 3515 Silverside Road, Wilmington, DE 19810.
Arrangements by Daniels & Hutchison Funeral Home LLC, Middletown.
