Before living in Fort Collins, Bill Walter III grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida where he spent the summers, during his teenage years, as a lifeguard. He came in second in the Iron Man competition for all of the Volusia County lifeguards. He was a champion swimmer on the Spruce Creek High School Swim Team. His record for free style is still unbroken 23 years later. Bill was on the swim team in college and continued in the Seniors Swim Program in Colorado. He was an avid outdoorsman….water skier, cyclist, snow skier, snow boarder, volley ball player, basketball player, mountain hiker, etc. and he NEVER WORE SUNSCREEN!!!!. 

    He was an employee of Fiscal Information in Loveland, Colorado. In 1985,after graduating from Furman University in South Carolina, he began his career in the computer field as a programmer. Before melanoma raised its ugly head in 1995, Bill was in the management of software development. His love for programming persisted and even now his legacy continues in the workplace with the continued use of the Sentinel Series software system. 

    While living in Colorado he met the love of his life, Kathy Bessler of Denver. They married in 1989. Their first child, Austin Michael Walter, was born October 26, 1993. Little did Bill know, but after his first child was born, he had only five more years of life on earth. Austin was 15 months old when his Daddy was diagnosed and the battle began. Even though Bill was on the immunotherapy program at John Wayne Cancer Center in Santa Monica, California, he and Kathy decided it was time Austin had a sibling. His philosophy was "I can't live as though I am going to die tomorrow!" On January 21, 1996 beautiful and healthy Katherine Elizabeth Walter was born. Austin and Katherine had such a short time with their Daddy. In that short period of time Austin was Bill's "Best Bud" and Katherine was his "Baby Girl". There are lots of videos for Austin and Katherine to hear the love in their Daddy's voice as he was ALWAYS behind the camera filming the children and commenting on their activities in a loving, proud, fatherly way and laughing at their antics. Bill laughed a lot.

    In January 1995 Bill was diagnosed with level 5 melanoma. Through several hospitalizations, surgeries and experimental treatments, he lost his life on November 18, 1998 at the young age of 36. 

    Bill's positive attitude lives on in hearts of those who are trying to help melanoma patients obtain the best possible treatments and assist in finding a cure. The Bill Walter III Melanoma Research Fund was founded by Bill's friends and family to focus on raising awareness of the dangers of over-exposure to the sun, to help melanoma patients financially with travel expenses to and from trials and treatments, and to help find a cure for melanoma by supporting promising research.

<<BACK