Maj. Walter A. “Walt” Poole, Retired

December 25, 2016

Maj. Walter A. “Walt” Poole, Retired, 79, of Bainbridge, Ga., formerly of Cairo, passed away Sunday, December 25, 2016.

The funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, December 29, 2016, at Ivey Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow at Roselawn Memory Gardens.

The family will receive friends immediately following the service. Online visitors may sign the guest register at www.iveyfuneral.com. Memorial donations may be made to: Bainbridge-Decatur County Humane Society, Inc, 1250 Cox Ave, Bainbridge, GA 39819.

Walter Arpolar Poole was born April 2, 1937, in Americus, Ga., the son of Walter Poole and Lillie Mae Spivey Poole. He was a graduate of Americus High School and Florida State University. Walt proudly served his country in the United States Army as a helicopter pilot, a bird dog pilot, and an aircraft controller. He married the love of his life, Deva Janell Richardson, in 1993.

Walt was very proud of his military service, retiring from the United States Army as a Major. He is best known as the “go to” person in the Media Center of Bainbridge High School. Affectionately known as “Mr. Poole”, his dry sense of humor and quick wit lessened the intensity of a technology disaster. He was disciplined and patient. Walt loved animals, especially birds. He enjoyed working in his yard, fishing, hunting, and catching up with people at WalMart.

Survivors include his wife of 23 years, DJ Poole; his son, Walter Shane Poole of North Carolina; his brother, Kenneth Field Poole, of Atlanta, Ga.; his granddaughter, Jennefer Lauren Thompson, of Vada, Ga.; his former wife, Mary Jane Poole, of Cairo, Ga.; and his special friends, Paschal Ward and Jerry Mills. Walt was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Elizabeth Poole.