Walter Paul Naef Jr.
Retired tugboat firm executive learned lifelong love of sailing, scuba diving on Long Island Sound and in 1960s Army stint
Walter Paul Naef Jr., a retired tugboat firm executive and scuba diver and sailor, died of cancer Feb. 10 at Gilchrist Towson Hospice. The former Bel Air resident, who also lived in Parkville, was 80.
Born in Astoria in Queens, New York, he was the son of Walter Naef Sr., a watchmaker born in Switzerland, and Jeanne Vervuren, a university secretary.
Mr. Naef attended events at the Swiss Benevolent Society of New York with his family and frequently visited Switzerland.
“My father’s love of all things related to water began on the Long Island Sound,” his daughter said. “He learned to row and sail at the Ariel [Boat] Club.”
After graduating from Garden City High School on Long Island in New York in 1960, he served in the Army in Okinawa, Japan.
There he was trained as a scuba diver, in addition to his work with the Army Security Agency, a unit focused on intelligence.
After leaving the military, Mr. Naef earned a degree at Adelphi University in New York where he met his future wife, Bonnie Vragel, and was a member of the Chi Sigma fraternity. They booked student shows, including Simon & Garfunkel and The Supremes, and married in 1969.
While on what was supposed to be a two-week honeymoon in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Mr. Naef decided to use his scuba skills to run a dive shop. Within a short time, he was leading diving expeditions for tourists and working in underwater demolition.
After a decade, Mr. Naef left the Virgin Islands and settled in Cockeysville. He began a career in the maritime industry as a tugboat captain with Hess Oil, and made regular trips from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands to Florida and Venezuela.
“My father missed his family during his long days away at sea,” said his daughter Kirsten Lavin. “He made a change, came ashore and studied at the University of Baltimore Law School. He joined Curtis Bay Towing and worked at Recreation Pier in Fells Point for many years.”
He worked late-night shifts.
“This meant he could be a Girl Scout leader, PTA president for Padonia [International] Elementary, and an all-around cool dad for every field trip,” his daughter said.
In 1986, the family moved to the Cedarwood community of Bel Air. Mr. Naef later joined Moran Towing and commuted to its Philadelphia and Connecticut offices before coming back to Baltimore as the vice president of operations.
During his time there, he managed labor negotiations, drug and safety testing, risk mitigation and port relations.
“He was on a first-name basis with [then-] Rep. Helen Delich Bentley, and managed the company’s participation in port milestones, such as the sailing of the Pride of Baltimore, the restoration of the Constellation, port entrance of the Queen Elizabeth II and the annual July 4 and New Year’s Eve firework barges,” his daughter said.
“My father was always on call. He would regularly tell his family that ‘there are no parking meters in the Chesapeake Bay,’ ” his daughter said.
When he retired nearly 20 years ago, he served as guest crew on the Pride of Baltimore II as a farewell gesture.
He and his wife were members of the Fleet 19 group of Catalina 27 owners at Maryland Marina, which later became the Northern Chesapeake Cruising Club. In retirement, they spent most of the summer sailing the Chesapeake.
Mr. Naef enjoyed teaching his grandchildren and newer boat owners about sailing.
Mr. Naef was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2014, his daughter said.
“Originally given six months to live, he was determined to prove everyone wrong and continued to remain active through treatments, including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and additional cancer diagnoses,” she said.
He volunteered with the Churchville Ruritan Club and the Chesapeake Cancer Alliance/Cancer LifeNet. He traveled with the family to the beach and to St. Croix. He made cabinets and furniture in his woodworking shop.
He and his wife moved to Oak Crest Village in the summer of 2021.
He enjoyed a rare steak, a plate of raw oysters and a good Manhattan. On the day before he was admitted to Gilchrist Hospice Center, he enjoyed a lunch outing — he had french fries and beer — with his sailing buddies, his daughter said.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Bonnie Vragel; two daughters, Michelle “Mimi” Naef of Memphis, Tennessee, and Kirsten Lavin of Towson; a sister, Annette Healy of Friendswood, Texas; and five grandchildren.
A service of remembrance will be held at 10 a.m. Feb. 25 at the Oak Crest Village Chapel at 8810 Walther Blvd. in Parkville.