Wallace Kountze, 83

Wally Kountze is pictured above at Medford’s 2014 Community Day, which was held in his honor along with Ben Averbook.

Wallace Hillard Kountze was born on October 29, 1931 in Boston, Massachusetts, the eldest of two sons born to the late Dorothy (Thomas) and Elmer Kountze. The family resided in West Medford, MA where Wally, as he quickly came to be known, was raised and thrived; and throughout his life would become an active and passionately devoted member of the community.

As a student at Medford High School, Wally’s natural enthusiasm for education was as apparent as his propensity for physical fitness and sportsmanship. By the age of 17, he had already achieved distinction as a Golden Gloves boxer which simply set the stage for the many years of jogging, competing in 5 & 10K runs as well as the tennis and squash tournaments that he so loved.

A veteran of the Korean conflict, Wally served in the United States Army from 1950 to 1952 and upon returning home, met, wooed and married Alberta May Yearwood in 1954. A year later they would welcome their first child, Vallery Jeanne and soon after, daughter Jocelynn Lenore. The young family had now settled in Springfield, MA, where Wally pledged to the Omega Psi Phi fraternity and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at Western New England College. This would mark the first of several academic achievements and a variety of pursuits that reflect a life-long commitment to education and public service.

In the years that followed, Wally attended Boston State College where he earned a Masters Degree in Education. His young marriage ended and with the help of his proud and loving parents, Dorothy and Elmer, Wally found himself balancing the demands of work, school and parenthood. During those years, he was inspired to give particular focus to the needs of developmentally challenged children and dedicated additional study and one-on-one time in the community accordingly. He then pursued and earned a Masters Degree in Urban Affairs at Boston University and later, a third Masters Degree in Public Administration at Suffolk University.

In 1961, Wally married Claretta Nora (Barker) Lattimer, a wonderful woman that he was destined to spend the rest of his life with. Happily, he became stepfather to Michelle Elizabeth Lattimer and together, they made their home in West Medford.

In an extraordinary career of public service spanning over 40 years, Wally blazed new trails working for the city (with Mayor Kevin White), the state (with Governor Michael Dukakis), as well as the federal government (during President Jimmy Carter’s Administration). Many of those early years involved championing Equal Opportunity and broadening the range of career possibilities for minorities and other under-represented groups.

In 1970, Wally was appointed by Mayor Kevin White to the newly established position of Deputy Commissioner of Personnel in the City of Boston’s Department of Health and Hospitals. In 1975, he was appointed by Governor Michael Dukakis to another newly created position as Civil Service Director of Personnel for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1978 when he was appointed by HEW Secretary, Joseph Califano, to yet another newly created position becoming the first tenured Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Department of Health & Human Services in Washington, DC. And, on July 13, 1979, President Jimmy Carter named Wallace Kountze a Charter Member of the Senior Executive Service of the United States of America.

During his time in Washington, Wally initiated a working relationship with members of the deaf community and the 101st Congress to increase emergency access for deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired individuals through H.R. 1690. Language was subsequently written and added to the legislative history of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requiring all local and state governments that provide emergency services to make those same services accessible to hearing impaired and speech impaired persons. The ADA was signed into law on July 26, 1990.

Upon his return to Medford, Wally joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now on the front lines of public safety and emergency services, he was deployed during several national emergencies.

In 1995, Wally retired from FEMA but not from an active life of public service. From then, and continuing well into 2013, he served at the pleasure of the Mayor of the City of Medford to advance and commemorate its many historical contributions and to preserve its artifacts and landmarks. Working with friends, neighbors and other like-minded community activists, Wally was also among the driving forces on such initiatives as the West Medford Community Project, the Kountze Family Archives at Brandeis University and The Remembrance Project.

Wally was project manager for E-911 and in 2002, he became the first Chairperson for the City of Medford’s “File of Life” program. He was a member of the “Friends of Salem Street Burying Ground”, a fifty year member of the Boston YMCA where he served on a number of committees over the years and a lifetime member of both the West Medford Community Center and the NAACP.

Wally is survived by his wife Claretta; daughters Vallery Kountze of Los Angeles, CA and Jocelynn Kountze of Lawrence; stepdaughter Michelle Lattimer of Medford; brother Elmer Kountze and sister-in –law Shirley (Hilliman) Kountze of Andover; grandchildren Kiersten and Meaghan; great grandchildren Nathianiel, Serena, Levi and one more (Olivia) on the way; niece Katherine Kountze-Tatum of Stoughton, and nephew Michael Kountze of San Antonio Texas.

Visiting hours will be held in the Beals-Geake-Magliozzi Funeral Home, 29 Governors Avenue, Medford on Wednesday, August 19, 2015, from 10 AM to 1 PM. Interment will be privately held.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to West Medford Baptist Church, 59 Boston Ave.,Medford, Ma. 02155 and/or Shiloh Baptist Church, Holton Street, Medford, Ma. 02155. For additional information, please visit, www.magliozzifuneralhome.com.

– Obituary from Beales-Geake-Magliozzi Funeral Home. Photo courtesy City of Medford.