Forrest Keith Walt, 97 of Nixa, passed away September 25, 2023 at Cox South Hospital in Springfield.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Lupton in Denver, Colo., and took basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., then was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. He received an honorable discharge in 1948. He moved to Kansas City, Mo., where he met co-worker Muriel Margaret Manthei, formerly of Kennedy, Minn., and on May 26, 1949, they were married at the Little Brown Church in Palmer Lake, Colo.
In KCMO Keith worked 20 years at Criterion Dry Cleaning and Laundry, then 21 years at 1-Hour Martinizing. The couple attended Calvary Baptist Church (later First Calvary Baptist Church) at 39th & Baltimore, KCMO, where Keith taught Sunday School, and where he became an ordained deacon in August 1952.
Keith is survived by sons Lt. Col. Curtis Keith Walt, USAF, Ret. (nee Linda Nelson) of Fairfield, Ohio, and Douglas Earl Walt (nee Janet L. Dinkheller) of Rogers, AR, grandchildren Taylor Walt of Cincinnati, OH, Garrett Walt (nee Erin Finley) of Batavia, OH, and Julius Walt (nee Jamie Odom) of Tulsa, Okla, and great granddaughters Emrys, Athena, and Holly Ruth. Additional survivors are Keith’s companion, Mary Wolf of the home and nieces Suzanne Nelson (John) and Diane Manthei, and their children all of Minn.
Funeral services will be at 9:00 AM on Friday, September 29, 2023 at Greenlawn Funeral Home, 708 State Hwy 248, Branson, Missouri 65616. Burial will follow in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.