Walter R. Averill, formerly of Edgartown, died at his home in Dowling Park, Fla., a few weeks shy of his 95th birthday.

He was born August 3, 1918 in Edgartown, the sixth of seven children to Alfred and Ada Willoughy Averill. As a young man he worked at the family bakery until 1940 when he joined the Army and served in the Quartermaster Corps until 1945.

At the end of the war, he returned home and was usually found in his garden or out scalloping.

In 1949 he returned to the Army, this time with the Signal Corps until the Korean War ended in 1952.

When he came home, he began his work at the Edgartown Post Office, where he stayed until he retired in 1975. He moved to Florida in 1977 to be near two of his sisters, and lived at Advent Christian Village, happily growing flowers until his death.

He is survived by his sister Carol of North Carolina, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brothers Alfred and Preston and his sisters Dorotha, Alita and Marion.

Services at the Old Westside Cemetery in Edgartown were private.