Walter Moreland

A Celebration of the life of Walter Weber Moreland, 90, of Geneseo will be held at 7:00 p.m. on May 24th (Monday) at Stackhouse-Moore Funeral Services, 225 E. Park St., Geneseo. Rev. Jon "Jack" Michaelsen will officiate. Walter died on January 25, 2010. Memorial contributions may be made to Abilities Plus, Kewanee or Geneseo Historical Museum.

Walt Moreland was born on October 31, 1919, in Kearney, Missouri, to Ella and Benjamin Moreland. He was one of eight children. In 1940, as a college student, he joined the National Guard and was drafted into the Army Air Corps after the declaration of WWII. He became a Captain in the Air Corps and served in both the Pacific and European Theaters of Operations. In the European Theater he was the lead crew navigator with the Mighty Eighth Air Force''s 487th heavy bombardment group, the "Gentlemen from Hell," stationed in Lavenham, England. He completed 42 bombing missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with four Oakleaf Clusters and the Air Medal with seven Oakleaf Clusters. He also received five Campaign and Theater medals.

Returning to the States after the war, he married Beverly Aline Bloom in 1945. He attended the University of Missouri on the G.I Bill, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. He joined Factory Mutual Corporation (now FM Global) in 1948 as a Loss Analyst and continued with the company as a Registered Professional Engineer. He and Beverly moved to Geneseo in 1960 and he was Factory Mutual''s representative to corporations in the Quad Cities until his retirement in 1981.

Walt and Beverly loved the Geneseo community and their friends and neighbors. Walt was a long-time member of the Geneseo Kiwanis Club and was the Club photographer. He was active in fundraising for the Illinois Chapter of the American Cancer Society. He was also a committed volunteer with the Abilities Plus Program, and one of his chief pleasures was joining program participants for bowling and pizza parties. He also greatly enjoyed his weekly walks with Hayden''s Hikers.

On October 10, 2009, Moreland was one of 100 Quad City WWII veterans who traveled to Washington, DC through the Honor Flight Program to visit the National WWII Memorial and other sites honoring U.S. veterans.

Moreland''s wife preceded him in death in 1999. He is survived by his daughter, Terri, of Washington, DC and his son, David, of Bellingham, Washington.

In keeping with his wishes, his body was donated to the University of Iowa''s Carver School of Medicine in Iowa City.