I have always been one to take photos of myself with friends, keep updated, not change, and you never know who. the next one will be the last memory you will have. Definitely not Walter Froebrich style, 100+ photos a night, a couple here, and few there. Every now and then I update a photo album on Facebook ‘Me and My Friends’. There are hundreds of photos scattered, I always would ensure proper tags are on place.
Pretty sad news on Saturday, not long after his 45th Birthday Walter passed away. The word is it was a preventable death. John Tard is leading the charge here, showing that there needs to be accountability for the passing of our friend. Unearthing information I am surprised he is getting so fast, its shows what Walter meant to everyone. The outpouring of Love and tributes for Walter is amazing. Another void now left in our scene and city.
I cannot tell you how long I knew Walter, but I do now know our first recorded photo was in early 2010 and our last was in 2022, Walter is probably one of the people I have the most photo tags with, there is an abundance to share, but I will only share the first and last I can find. It made me smile someone mentioned we all know his photos were not National Geographic quality. You can see that in the first photo I will share. Nonetheless, I always stopped and took a photo with Walter and soon it became a bit of a game, who would catch the first photo, him or I. Walter with his trusty Camera, getting someone to take the photo, or selfie style with my cellphone. There are lots. When I took the photos, my inbox would ring. ‘Can you send me the photo’ I would reply, dont worry I’l be posting it and I would
For me, I will always remember this quiet, simple and happy guy who I befriended outside my events. Smiling, smoking, taking photos with everyone. VIP meet and greets and more. He loved his music and his community. I would see Walter inebriated to the point he could only make sounds, not even string together a conversation, yet he smiled and remained vertical, and would cheers you with his beer, which basically was only ornamental by this point in the evening. He would be having a good time, loving life and the moment. Surrounded by his metal family.
Indeed he will be missed by me, and many others in this community. Rest In Peace Walter. I’m happy our lives journeys intersected.
