Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Monday, February 07, 2011 at 05:15:11 :
West Marin Citizen
January 21, 2010
Walter Pack – enterprising, good - hearted crusty curmudgeon
Obituary by Larken Bradley
Longtime Lagunitas resident Walter J. Pack, a goat rancher, walnut grower and role model for productive living in one’s later years, died at home, Friday, January 15, from age-related congestive heart failure. He was 94.
In the weeks before his death, Mr. Pack saw a dream start to come true when he swung a mallet to begin demolition of an historically incorrect woodstove at Fort Ross State Park on the Sonoma coast. A son of Siberian immigrants, Mr. Pack had commissioned its replacement with an authentic replica of the kind of heating-and-cooking stove used in the 19th-century fur traders’ Russian settlement.
Though he didn’t live to light the new hearth’s fire, a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the stove will be held February 12, on what would have been Mr. Pack’s 95th birthday.
While working as a sales manager for the telephone company’s Yellow Pages, Mr. Pack hatched plans for his golden years. Some ventures thrived - others didn’t. He successfully grew giant walnuts, which he marketed with the advertising slogan, The Man with the Biggest Nuts in Town. He raised trout on his property and won prizes for his Borzoi wolfhounds.
Violinist
Mr. Pack tried his hand in the cashmere-production business, stocking his ranch with cashmere goats to provide the wool. In his 80s, he launched adventure-travel tours to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia.
“Walter was a bit of a pioneer out here,” said neighbor Barney Felling. “He really wanted that mix of country and micro-city and animal husbandry.”
Born in San Francisco in 1915, he was originally named Vladimir Prokofyevich Koulakoff. His father, who worked as a carriage painter, later changed the family name to Pack to help them assimilate and gave his son a new first name while he was at it. His mother was, at the same time, famous for her pelmini, Russian dumplings typically eaten with a dollop of sour cream, followed by a vodka chaser.
A talented violinist, while still in high school young Walter played with symphony orchestras. At 19, he won a coveted laborer job on the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, but soon accepted a better offer, a position as a violinist on an ocean liner sailing around the world.
Modern home
In 1947 he bought property on Arroyo Road in Lagunitas and in the late 50s commissioned the design and building of a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired modern home with clerestory windows, built-in benches and a flat roof. He lived there with is wife Marion Pack, who died of cancer in the 1980s. A second marriage was brief and ended in divorce.
Mr. Pack is remembered by friends and neighbors as a “cantankerous old cuss with a heart of gold,” said friend Frank Binney.
“A piece of hard candy with a delightful soft middle is how I would best describe Mr. Pack,” said neighbor Jill Scarbrough.
Added his niece Nicole Goodman, “His personality could be quite crusty at times, and he was very opinionated, but his spunk always tickled me.”
Building bridges
Mr. Pack was active in many local activities including the San Geronimo Valley Lions Club. And thanks to him, the old bridge near Arroyo Road and Barranca Road got replaced, said Barney Felling.
He was predeceased by his wife, Marion Pack; sisters, Zena Hawkin; and Vera Marston; and his brothers, Nicolas Pack; Robert Pack; and Kenneth Pack.
Mr. Pack is survived by his niece, Nicole Goodman of Brentwood, Contra Costa County; and nephew, Nicholas Pack of Belmont.
He also leaves behind friends Frank Binney of Forest Knolls and Jeanette Pontacq of Point Reyes Station, who looked after him in his later years.
Burial will be in Olema Cemetery. His gravestone will be inscribed with the name he was given at birth, Vladimir Prokofyevich Koulakoff.
Memorial celebration
A memorial celebration will be held at 1 p.m., Sunday, January 24, at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center.
Memorial contributions may be made to West Marin Senior Services.
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