Walter Rabon

Walter Keith Rabon was born on June 21, 1962 in Charlotte, NC to William (“Bill”) and Sarah Rabon, and as a younger sibling to Cliff Rabon. The early years of Walter’s life were spent in Charlotte, until his family moved to Houston, TX right before Walter started high school. Walter attended Klein High School in Houston, then went on to University of Texas at Austin for college, where he earned a Bachelors degree in Accountancy. One of Walter’s biggest passions in life was music. He started collecting his favorite music at a young age, frequently trading LPs with friends and visiting record stores to find the most coveted tracks. Anyone who ever took a car ride with Walter knows about his meticulously organized music collection, which included playlists for every genre, time period, and mood. In school Walter sang in the choir, played the trumpet in marching band, and acted in school musicals. His early participation in the musical arts only deepened his love of music; as an adult Walter was an avid concert-goer, season pass holder to the symphony, and an attendee at many Broadway and off-Broadway musicals. Walter was around music or had music playing at any and every time he could, and he truly had a song for everything. His love of music will live on through his children, Catherine and Matthew. Though Walter worked at Honeywell as a Finance Manager for 27 years, he would have considered his life one lived in service to God. He received a Masters of Divinity from Brite Divinity College, Texas Christian University and went on to serve as a Pastor of First Christian Church in Prescott, AZ. In 1997 Walter and his children moved to Phoenix, AZ and began attending Foothills Christian Church, where Walter was a church member for 20 years. He took on many roles at Foothills: a deacon, a choir member, an elder, a children’s ministry leader, a member of the pastoral search committee, and a preacher during weeks when Foothills’ Pastor was on sabbatical. Wherever there was a need, Walter volunteered to help. He was a firm believer in using the gifts God had given us to help those around us, and he was a shining example of that throughout his life. In 2017 Walter moved back to Houston, TX, where he became a member of Cypress Creek Christian Church. He also served as an elder and was a member of the church choir, continuing his life of service. In 2018 he met Kelley; they were married in 2020 at Cypress Creek Christian Church. Other than his children, Kelley was the joy of Walter’s life. He was a devoted husband and loved her with all his heart. Walter and Kelley went on many adventures together. Walter was also thrilled to have a lifelong date to music events; Kelley faithfully attended the symphony, concerts, musicals, the ballet, and even Bollywood events with Walter. The family was always overjoyed to hear about and see pictures of Walter and Kelley’s latest excursion. Walter passed away on October 1, 2024, surrounded by family and an outpouring of love from all those who knew him. He was preceded in death by his father, Bill Rabon. He is survived by and will be dearly missed by his beloved wife Kelley; his children Catherine, Matthew and his partner Samie, and Luis; his mother Sarah; his brother Cliff and Cliff’s wife Laura; and his niece and nephews Andrea, Avery, and Austin. A memorial service for Walter will be help on November 1st, 2024 at Cypress Creek Christian Church. Details are forthcoming. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to Brite Divinity School.

Walter Rabon

June 12, 1962 - October 1, 2024