August 11, 1935 - March 15, 2025

Walter Frederick Jahncke, age 89, of Dayton, passed away at Hospice of Chattanooga Care Center on Saturday, March 15, 2025. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 11, 1935, the son of the late Herbert Grant Jahncke and Margaret (Henriques) Jahncke. He was also preceded in death by his youngest brother, Herbert Grant Jahncke II.

Much of Walter’s childhood was spent with cousins, aunts, uncles and younger brothers at Waldheim - a 100-acre family estate in rural Covington, Louisiana. The property was bordered by three rivers, and the brothers spent countless hours on the water. When in the city, the family resided at their home on Bamboo Road, and Walter prepared for his role in the family cement business by attending Isidore Newman School and earning a BS in civil engineering at Tulane University in New Orleans, before going on to earn his MBA at Stanford University in California.

During his college years he enjoyed many outdoor sports, including snow and water skiing, tennis and swimming, as well as canoeing, sailing and motor boating. Upon completing his degree at Stanford, young Walter returned to Covington, where he was involved in what has become known in family lore as the most fortuitous maritime disaster in modern history. While out boating on the river the young bachelor came across a stranded vessel full of young sorority girls whose boat had run out of fuel. As their rescuer, he was famously regaled for the afternoon by the grateful young damsels, including one young woman named Carol, who, in the not-too-distant future, would become his wife and lifelong companion.

The two were married in 1964, and although both had come from some religious tradition in their childhood, Walter and Carol came to a more personal faith as the Jesus Revolution swept across America in the mid to late 1970s. They took family trips to summer family conferences and outdoor Christian music festivals and made a permanent move from New Orleans to the family property in Covington, where they began attending a local Bible church that met in a mobile trailer, and helped to start a local Christian school called Northlake.

After the family business changed hands in the 1970s, Walter went on to become a Certified Public Accountant and after operating his own practice for a number of years, accepted a position as professor of accounting at Bryan College, while accompanying his daughter Catherine on an investigative trip to Bryan in 1983.

In retirement Walter continued to enjoy studying the Bible and continued to put his accounting experience to good use, advising and serving on various ministry boards in the area, as well as involvement in leadership, men’s groups and other activities at Grace Bible Church. In the family’s rich southern culinary tradition - he will also be remembered for his love of espresso, raw oysters, and just about any other food you served him.

Walter is survived by his wife of 61 years, Carol (Hebert) Jahncke of Dayton; his three children, Walter (Michele) Jahncke III of Des Moines, Iowa, Catherine (Rosemary Philips) Jahncke of Canton, New York, and Joshua (Lizzy) Jahncke of Dayton; and his grandchildren, Walter (Rachel) Jahncke (IV), Barton (Beth) Reed-Jahncke, Milton, Amelie, Ren, Tristan, Marie and Bastian, as well as his brother, Robert (Beth) Jahncke.

Funeral services for Walter will be at Grace Bible Church in Dayton on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. Jim Woychuk officiating. Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m. Walter will be laid to rest at Rhea Memory Gardens in Dayton after the service.

Memorial gifts in Walter’s name may be made to Grace Bible Church.

Please share your memories and photos of Walter on his online guest register at www.vanderwallfh.com.

The family is being cared for by Vanderwall Funeral Home in Dayton, Tennessee.