Walter Trautschold

Walter Cocke Trautschold, 65, of Waco, passed away on September 18, 2020. Reverend Dr. Leslie King will officiate a graveside funeral service on Tuesday, September 22 at 1:00 p.m. at Oakwood Cemetery, Waco, Texas.

The third child of Carl Alexander Trautschold, Jr., and Sara Don Cocke, Walter grew up in Waco, attended St. Mary’s Catholic School and St. Alban’s Episcopal School, and graduated from University High School. Walter moved to Houston, Texas, after graduation and worked in horticulture and landscape design until a severe motorcycle accident altered his life. Walter’s extensive rehabilitation included relearning how to walk and talk. His recovery was aided by Dr. Stanley Seaton, a childhood friend of Walter’s stepfather, H. Wallace Wright, who founded Tangram Ranch in San Marcos as an experimental rehabilitation facility for persons with brain injuries. Dr. Seaton’s work with Walter transformed the field of psychiatry, demonstrating that the brain can heal through intensive, long-term therapy. After three years at Tangram Ranch, Walter returned to Waco. He then moved to Granbury, Texas, and worked as a quality and safety inspector for the construction of Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant. After the completion of the power plant, Walter returned to Waco where he worked at the family meat processing plant until his retirement. Clients on his delivery route became fast friends and looked forward to their regular visits with Walter.

Walter was admired for his sharp wit, conversational knack, and compassion for others. Like his mother, he loved science, engineering, and reading and, given the opportunity, Walter would tell you in great, great detail about his latest ideas and inventions.

Walter was preceded in death by his father, Carl Alexander Trautschold, Jr., his stepfather and mother, H. Wallace Wright and Sara Don Cocke Wright, his brothers, Carl Alexander Trautschold, III, James Andrew Flora, and Ralph Coffelt Trautschold, and his sister, Sara Don Landsfeld.

Walter is survived by his brother Henry William Wright, II, Henry’s wife Lenore, and their children Henry Wallace Wright, II, and Carl Haze Wright; his brother-in-law Mike Landsfeld; and his niece Sara Abigail Stovall, Abigail’s husband Jerrett Stovall, and their children Max Jones and Gemma Stovall.