Walter G. Scheipe

Walter G. Scheipe Sr., 92, passed away on April 4, 2017, in the Reading Hospital.

Walter was born June 22, 1924 in Schuylkill Haven, Pa. He was the son of Walter H. and Anna M. (Minnich) Scheipe.

He was the husband of Judith (Mahle) Scheipe, Leesport.

He was a graduate of Tremont (Pa.) High School and served in the U.S. Coast Guard in WWII, traveling the globe on a Coast Guard supply ship.

After WWII, upon graduation from Bloomsburg State Teachers College, he went to work for Bethlehem Steel as a school administrator and instructor in the Iron Mines Company of Venezuela, San Felix, a company-owned mining camp near Caracas, Venez., teaching all subjects to grades 1 thru 12, in English and Spanish. Upon returning to Pennsylvania, he went to work as a bookkeeper and guard at the Schuylkill County Prison, working for his father, Walter H., who was the prison's Warden. He then accepted a position as a Pa. State Parole Officer in the county of Philadelphia. He next served as Berks County's Chief Probation and Parole officer, serving also as the Head of the county's Domestic Relations Division. He was next asked to become the Warden of the Berks County Prison, serving 14 years in that position, before being appointed by then Gov. Dick Thornburg, to become a Member of the Pennsylvania State Board of Probation and Parole, where he served 15 years until his retirement.

He had been a pioneer, and was proud of, implementing many programs in Berks County and statewide, that provided more humane and modern forms of rehabilitation of prison inmates, including work release, high school and college instruction, alcohol and drug treatment programs, a prison Jaycees chapter, and the expansion of social and religious programs for inmates. Among other recognitions, he had been proud of receiving the B'Nai B'rith "Man-Of-The-Year Americanism Award" from the Reading Lodge in 1975 and the Andrew G. Mungenast Founders Award from the United States Jaycees. He was recognized by Bloomsburg University as an Outstanding Alumni.

He participated in many professional and community organizations and his achievements, involvements, and awards were too numerous to list fully. He was a past President of the Berks County Chiefs of Police Association, a past President of the Pennsylvania Prison Warden's Association, was board member of Berks County's Chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism, and was proud of working closely with his friend, Dick Caron, on starting 'Chit Chat Farms', the precursor to today's Caron Foundation. He was a member of the Elks, the Masons, the West Reading Lion's Club, and others. After his retirement, he also served as a Bern Township supervisor. He enjoyed and will be missed by his family, his many friends, and his dog Foxy. He enjoyed traveling throughout his life to Texas and the Southwest, shore points, deep sea fishing trips, cruises, his cabin on the Pine Creek, and especially his visits to his childhood home of Tremont, Pa.

He is survived by his wife Judy, at home; sister, Eleanor (Scheipe) Gould, Elizabethtown, PA.; son, Walter G., Jr.(Nancy), Princeton, NJ; daughter, Trisha Allen (fiancé Dale), Maggie Valley, NC; son, Richard P. (Dawn), Mt. Laurel, NJ; son, Randy Davis (Emmy), Womelsdorf, Pa.; daughter, Christine Purcell, Lemoyne, Pa; Also, surviving grandchildren are granddaughter and care-giver, MacKenzie, as well as Cory, Benjamin, Christine, Michael, Caroline, Lindsay, Alonso, Alex, Scott, Lauren, several great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

He was pre-deceased by his brother Robert M. Scheipe and sister Margaret Scheipe.

A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, April 8, 2017, at 10 a.m. in Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home, Inc., 739 Penn Ave., West Reading, PA. Friends may call from 9-10 a.m. in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Bern Evangelical Lutheran Church at 820 W. Leesport Rd, Leesport, PA 19533. Online condolences can be recorded at www.kuhnfuneralhomes.com.