Obituary of Walter W. Faster

Faster, Walter W. of Deephaven, Minn., peacefully passed away Sunday, July 26, with his family around him at Methodist Hospital after a sudden, brief illness. Wally was born July 24, 1933, to Mabel and Walter Faster in Lincoln, Illinois, where he grew up. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1955 and received his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1958. He served two years in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant. Wally loved to spend time with his family, including his eight grandchildren, at his home in Deephaven, the cabin on Bay Lake and on Sanibel Island. Wally loved being on or near water and was an avid sailor on Lake Minnetonka. He enjoyed playing tennis and going downhill skiing with friends and family. Wally worked for General Mills in the Twin Cities for 34 years, retiring as vice president of corporate growth and planning. Wally was always curious about new places and loved to travel, having been in almost 60 countries. He was dedicated to improving his community, where he had a huge impact on all the people around him through his leadership. He was well known for his ability to be calm, neutral and respectful of everyone at the table-and for closing a deal. He was dedicated to St. Luke Presbyterian Church, where he was a member since the early 1960s and served as an ordained elder. He worked on many of the church's social justice projects, including the Peace Bond project to end the war in Vietnam and the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980s. He served on the boards of several Twin Cities-area nonprofit organizations, including Metropolitan Economic Development Association, Milestone Growth Fund, Cricket Theatre, Minneapolis Downtown Council, Haiti Outreach, Bar None Ranch, and Volunteers of America Minnesota. He was a founder of Relate Counseling Center. He served as president of the national Volunteers of America board of directors, and received its prestigious Ballington and Maud Booth Award. He served on corporate boards for Mentor and American Dehydrated Foods. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Cecy; his children Erik Knutson, Karen Faster, Tom Faster, Rachel Knutson Pettit, Marta Knutson, Mat Knutson; daughters-in-law Kerri Faster and Cathy Knutson; grandchildren Hattie, Liam and Aiden Pettit, Will and Nathan Faster, and Ingrid, Greta and Haakon Knutson; Rene, Deanne and Ariel Larin; Manny Gurneau; and extended family members. He was preceded in death by his daughter Maile Knutson and his brother, Ron. Services will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 1, at St. Luke Presbyterian Church, 3121 Groveland School Road, Wayzata MN 55391. Memorials are preferred to St. Luke Presbyterian Church.