Obituary: Waldemar 'Walt' Denton Waldemar "Walt" Denton, 43, Topeka, died Sunday, Aug. 22, 2004, at Stormont-Vail Regional Medical Center. He was born Nov. 10, 1960, in Babenhausen, Darmstadt, West Germany, the son of James William Denton and Hildegard Petik Denton. He graduated from Manhattan, Kan., High School in 1979 and attended Kansas State University and Washburn University, where he was a member and past president of the Phi Theta Kappa National Honors Fraternity. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps.
Walt was a member of Grace Episcopal Cathedral. On Sept. 10, 1983, he married Karla Hempstead-Denton and the couple moved to Topeka in 1984. Walt graduated from the Topeka Police Academy and was employed by the Kansas Highway Patrol, Troop K. Since 1985, he had served at various times as a police officer, a police sergeant and security guard. Previously, he had been employed at Kansas State University, Meadowlark Hills Retirement Center and Washburn University. Walt was a talented amateur photographer, astronomer and a former Cub Scout Leader.
Survivors include his wife; a son, James Carl Denton, 18; mother, Hildegard Denton, of Manhattan; and brother, Karl Heinz Denton, of Portland, Ore. He was preceded in death by his father and an unborn child.