Walter James Esler Jr

Walter J. Esler Jr. passed away peacefully April 27, 2026 at Evanston Hospital after a lengthy bout with blood cancer. He was 83 years old.

Born during World War II while his late father Walter J. Esler Sr. (died 1999) was in service in Europe, Walter Jr. was affectionately known as Puddin’. When he encountered soldiers on the streets of Chicago he is said to have run up to them and asked them, “Are you my father?” During his father’s Army training, Walter and his late mother Marion K. Esler (née Fogarty, died 2002) lived in an Airstream trailer outside the base in Metairie, LA.

Post war, the family moved into the bungalow at 4959 W. George St. in Chicago, and Walter’s six siblings were born through 1958. Walter graduated from the parish grammar school at St. Genevieve, and attended DePaul High School, withdrawing senior year over a theological dispute with his religion teacher. Though brilliant and a member of MENSA, Walter ended up receiving a GED rather than graduating from high school in conventional fashion.

Walter later attended the University of Illinois (then located on Navy Pier) but his time there was interrupted by the draft for the growing war in Viet Nam. Walter avoided that theater of war and was assigned instead to a U.S. military base in Bamburg, Germany, where he was trained as a medic’s assistant. Honorably discharged, Walter was granted permission through the efforts of his congressman to be released in Europe, and traveled for the better part of a year, ultimately alighting in the Republic of Ireland where he stayed with a family for six months.

Coming back to the U.S. he returned to his familial home, where he resided until his marriage to Virginia. The two moved into an apartment at Oakdale and Laramie, and later joined Vista, the domestic Peace Corps, and were assigned to posts in Topeka, KS. On their return to Chicago, Walter worked for a period at Illinois Bell Telephone Company, and the couple bought a two-flat at 5046 W. Wrightwood, where they raised their children Mary Ann Esler and Walter Esler III.

Walter worked in a variety of county positions, ultimately becoming a Cook County CEDA Counselor for which he prepared by obtaining a Masters Degree in Industrial Education. He was also deeply involved with the Cook County Democratic Party, designing a software program to optimize voter canvassing activities. Walter was a supporter of the Catholic Workers Movement, and also became involved in union affairs with the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), continuing to be active after his retirement with the AFSCME Retirees Subchapter 161.

Disaffected with the direction of the Democratic Party, after his retirement Walter became active with the Green Party in Illinois, was an early supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders run for president.

Throughout his life Walter was very attentive to the care of his youngest brother Petey, who had Down Syndrome and autism. Walter supported his parents in their efforts to develop services for special needs children, and was active with his brother Thomas at Austin Special School, Work Center and its residential program. Walter had a lifelong curiosity about the natural world, and was knowledgeable about flora, fauna and geology. He also liked classical music, and for years he and Virginia held season tickets to Music of the Baroque. He also worked with his friend Dave Overby in audio production of a jazz music program on local public radio.

He is survived by his daughter Mary Ann Murata (née Esler, Hiro Murata) and grandchildren Nicholas, Amelia, and Megan Murata; and son Walter J. Esler III; by his dear brothers Michael (Patricia McLeod), Robert, William (Beth Burbank), and sister Mary Ann; and by a number of nephews and nieces and grandnephews and grandnieces who survive him: Michael’s children Megan Esler and her sons Michael and James, Brian Esler and his wife Yvette Duhamel and their children - Logan Adams, Kali Adams, and Tatum Esler - and Juniper Esler; Robert’s son Joseph Esler; William’s son Kyran Esler; and Mary’s daughter Rachel Dobkin and her husband Micah Bedrosian and their children Winifred and Max. He is preceded in death by his wife Virginia Esler (née Myers, 2018); and brothers Thomas Esler (2018) and John Peter Esler (2024).

Walter’s wake will take place Friday, May 1, 2026 from 4 - 8 PM at Pietryka Funeral Home, 5734 W Diversey Ave, Chicago; with funeral mass Saturday, May 2 at 9:30 AM at St. Genevieve Church 4835 West Altgeld Street, Chicago followed by interment at All Saints Cemetery, 700 North River Road, Des Plaines, IL. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Austin Special Work Center, 5318 N. Elston Ave., Chicago, IL 60630 773-736-3833 in memory of Walter would be appreciated.