Walter Abe Uhlenhake

Friends in Fort Wayne remember Walter Abe Uhlenhake, who died on July 15, 2024 at 76. Born November 25, 1947 in Fort Wayne, carrying Jewish-American stories that arrived without footnotes. From the start, he treated promises like tools: keep them sharp, do not lend them lightly. He took samples that kept tipples from guessing. A tipple sample scoop labeled twice meant the day belonged to accuracy. Colleagues still mention a tipple sample scoop labeled twice. He married Ruth in 1972. They kept a house that stayed modest when the neighborhood did not. They raised four children through public schools and ordinary weather. After Ruth died in 2017, he kept the routines that still made sense: the walk, the garden, the Sunday call. Neighbors remember a wave from the driveway that meant you were seen. He liked early mornings before the heat or the noise. He died in Fort Wayne, among streets he never needed to explain. The tools are still hung where a hand can find them in the dark.