Brousard, Walter L.

Walter L. Brousard passed away Sept. 17h, 2013, in Laguna Hills, Calif. He was born Jan. 1. 1929, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Walter and Viletta (nee Lyman) Brousard. He graduated from Sioux City Central High School in 1946 and attended the University of South Dakota and the University of Iowa.

He was a football and track star at Central High School and never lost his passion for Iowa Football. He came out to California in 1953 with his family, seeking his fortune in the Golden West. He eventually rose to be an executive vice president with Computer Sciences Corporation in the 70s and 80s. He loved to work.

He was a complicated man. He was passionate about reading, took pleasure in quiet time and enjoyed building and creating things with his hands. He deeply valued the written and spoken word. He appreciated the company of old friends. But it was his public persona that defined who he was. He was known, from time to time, to enjoy a strong drink and a smoke. He never tired of dining, celebrating and being with friends. He was a clotheshorse and had a rack of suits and shoes to die for. He loved to dance and mingle into the wee hours. He relished a crowd and delighted in working a room, an obligation in the many executive jobs he held in the fledgling computer industry of the 60s and 70s. He thrived on being a big wheel and played it to the hilt, and if someone thrust a microphone in front of him in the course of the action, so much the better. He was always the life of the party, ready to perform, loved to be the center of attention. He was brash and positive, never did anything halfway. No one loved life as much as Walter Brousard.

The greatest performance of his life, though, was the time he spent as caregiver for our mother, Peggy Brousard, who died in 2010. She needed constant attention for the last five years of her life and he personally tended to her for several of those years at their home. After she took up residence in assisted living, he visited her every day, four and five hours at a time for nearly two years. It was his finest hour.

He lived life on his own terms. He was a man of principle, a hard charger who believed in the virtue of hard work and seizing your opportunities. He believed that every person is here to fulfill their destiny and it was their obligation to pursue it. He lived his life to the fullest and departed this life with no regrets.

He is survived by brother, Jack (Nancy), of Viera, Fla.; sister, Barbara Pelchat (Gene) of Sioux City.; sister-in-law, Marianne Brousard of Elmhurst, Ill.; sister-in-law, Virginia Larsen of Mount Vernon; sons, Michael (Cathy) of San Clemente, Calif. and Mark (Rose) of Byron Bay, Australia; daughter, Jill (Doug Smith), of Long Beach, Calif..; six grandchildren, Michelle, Jamie and Carly of Australia and Patrick, Kevin and Dominic of San Clemente, Calif.; and five great-grandchildren, Naomi, Selena, Hadassa, Ryan and Jayse of Australia.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Peggy (nee Feyder) Brousard.

Published in The Gazette Oct. 16, 2013.