David J. Walkenstein, 86, of Sherborn and formerly Framingham, October 20, 2024. Beloved husband of Leslie A. (Doucette) Walkenstein. Born in Webster, MA, May 20, 1938 to Herbert and Frances (Kasierski) Walkenstein.
David was raised in Revere, MA, graduated from Peabody High School in 1955. He attended Coyne Electrical, Wentworth Institute of Technology and Boston University. David started his long electrical engineering career in construction as a draftsman, designer, senior electrical manager, director, and a licensed registered professional electrical engineer. David was employed by a number of firms in Cambridge, Worcester and Boston: Hayden, Harding and Buchanan; Greenleaf Engineers; Masiello; Chas T. Main; Raytheon Co.; Party Lite Candles; SAR; and retired from Architectural Engineers Inc. at age 79. His projects included schools, hospitals, transportation, manufacturing plants, big power projects for the pulp and paper industry, over the horizon radar with Raytheon for the Navy. He traveled throughout the United States and the world managing construction in New York, Maine, Alabama, Chesapeake, Texas, California, Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, England, Australia, and Ethiopia.
Full of life and a well known prankster, he enjoyed his family, colleagues, classmates and friends. David was an avid home landscaper, backyard chef, and tended a large vegetable garden. Other passions included playing full court basketball until his 60s. He coached girls youth soccer, boys and girls club basketball for disadvantaged children. He led a group of local teens from St. Bridget’s in Framingham to World Youth Day in Denver, CO in 1993 where they encountered spiritual growth and a commission from now Saint John Paul II which was life altering for him. David was raised in the Jewish faith and after his pilgrimage to World Youth Day, he embraced the Catholic faith and was Baptized into the Catholic Church at age 51. He chaperoned many Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) events and teen retreats. He ministered to the poor and worked to build a culture of life for the unborn. Befriended by missionary priests from India, for several summers, he accompanied them to their parish assignments throughout the Archdiocese of Boston. At the end of his life, Dave committed to weekly Eucharistic holy hours for priests. His chief devotions were to the Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, the Holy Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet.
Dave loved music, theater, film, news and politics inspiring his children in these fields. He was a hopeless romantic and loved the Hallmark Channel and all rom coms. Hoarding the remote on a regular basis, he also loved spy and action thrillers, the Food Channel and old cowboy movies. As an avid athlete, he revered the Boston dominating sports teams. He loved traveling, road trips, the Virginia coast, Cape Cod, Manhattan, the west coast of California and south Florida. David served in the Army National Guard and has a great love for the United States.
Besides his wife Leslie, David is survived by his loving daughters, Marie Pressman of Fort Lauderdale, and Alexis Walkenstein of Sherborn and Los Angeles, his grandchildren, Elliot Pressman and Sadie Pressman, both of Fort Lauderdale. An only child, Dave adored the large family he inherited through marriage including his brother-in-law, Michael Doucette and wife Penny of Maine, brother-in-law Kevin Doucette of Millis, and his sister-in-law, Suzanne (Doucette) D’Innocenzo and her husband Paul. Dave leaves one niece and five nephews and their spouses along with eighteen grand nieces and nephews and dozens of cousins. He is predeceased by his son-in-law Herbert Pressman of Maine and nephew Glen Doucette of Natick, and Dean Doucette
Family and friends will honor and remember David’s life by gathering for visiting hours in the McCarthy, McKinney & Lawler Funeral Home, 11 Lincoln St. Framingham on Friday, October 25th from 4-8PM. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday morning in St. Bridget Church, 830 Worcester Rd., Framingham at 10 o’clock. Interment will follow in St. Patrick Cemetery, Natick.
To share a memory with David’s family, kindly visit www.mccarthyfh.com
Norton Funeral Home