Walter Brooke Saxe died November 4, 2024. He was born on February 16, 1938, in Orange, New Jersey to John Burtis Saxe and Lorraine Brooke and raised in Westfield, New Jersey.
Walter attended the Westfield schools and spent enjoyable summers at Camp Zakelo in Maine and Camp Pemigewasset in New Hampshire. A letter home from his counselor at Camp Zakelo in 1948 perfectly captured his personality: "Walter has a keen sense of fair play and tolerance, takes the good and the bad in strides and definitely finishes what he starts." He completed his secondary education at Phillips Exeter Academy. Concentrating in economics, Walter received his A.B. in 1960 from Harvard College where he was a member of Dunster House. He then enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and obtained his CPA certificate from Rutgers University.
In the 1960s, Walter joined the national public accounting firm, Ernst & Ernst in Boston. It was at a party in Cambridge that Walter captured the attention of Penelope Potter with his quiet charm and acoustic guitar skills. Walter and Penny married and lived in Cambridge for five years before moving to a high-gothic Victorian home in Newton Corner. This home (which was later placed on the National Registry of Historic Places) held and gathered his family for almost thirty years. After Ernst & Ernst, Walter served as the chief financial officer for Wheelock College, Wang Institute of Graduate Studies, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology.
Upon his retirement, Walter and Penny moved to Penny's family home in North Andover. Here he and Penny placed a conservation easement on the property's open meadow to protect it for future generations. Walter planted numerous trees and shrubs to enhance an already majestic landscape. He found particular pleasure in observing scenery and often took the road less traveled to enjoy the view. At his family's summer cottage in Edgecomb, Maine, he sailed their small wooden lapstrake Old Town sailboat and wood canvas sail canoe, and cruised the Sheepscot River in his beloved wooden boat, Ripple Effect.
Walter was also a fan of classical and folk music, theater, film, and museums. He and Penny were longtime season ticket holders of the Huntington Theatre and Boston Symphony. Later, upon moving to Maine, Walter cherished smaller venues such as the Lincoln Theater (Damariscotta) and The Theater at Monmouth.
He was a faithful attendee of his grandchildren's soccer, basketball, and baseball games. Walter had a steady and quiet presence that was a strength to all, and he served as a devoted caretaker to Penny in her final years of declining health. He had an incredible memory of family history and quick wit. His thoughtful observations will be dearly missed. Walter's beloved wife, Penelope Potter Saxe, passed away in 2023, during their 58th year of marriage. Walter leaves his three children: Hannah Saxe of Waltham, Lydia Saxe and her husband, Chris Crabtree, of Arrowsic, Maine; and their children, Gage, Greta, and Leelu, and Will Saxe and his wife, Julie Saxe, of Cumberland, Maine; and their children, James and John; the sons of his late brother, John: nephews, Matthew Saxe, Charles Saxe, and Andrew Saxe; his hometown friend, Charlie Burfield; his college roommate and dear friend, Irwin Avery; and friends, John Appleton and the late Tony Corry.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a future date. To honor Walter, please take the scenic route on your travels. To share a memory or to send a note of condolence to Walter's family, visit www.eatonandmackay.com.
Slightly modified from what was published by The Boston Globe from November 27 to December 1, 2024.
