Walter Bialo Will Be Missed
I literally knew Walter my entire life. My father became an accountant when he started his business in 1938. As I was growing up, my father used to tell my mother what went on during his day. Walter would pop up becausehe was my father’s largest client.
Walter was 94 and lived a fulfilled life with loving children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, a loving wife, a dear deceased wife, and other relatives and friends. At his funeral the words spoken were warm and touching but could not express the scope of the regard and love felt by those he left behind.
When my father died in 1976 (too young and too soon) I took over as Walter’s accountant. Walter was one of those clients you wish for. Demanding for sure, but with a strict code and ethic that applied to everyone including himself. He never asked anyone to do something he wasn’t prepared to do. When he wanted something – he wanted it right away – and when he had to do something, he did it right away. He expected his customers to religiously honor his payment terms – and he never paid a bill late. He expected his employees to work hard and always remember that the “customer is always right” – he did likewise. No one ever quit because they thought they were underpaid, and his office and executive staff turnover was less than minimal. He was a completely trustworthy man whose word was bond. He was generous, charitable, always cheerful, and continually looking for better ways to improve his products and provide exceptional customer service (which he was known for).
With me, he was open, available, full of ideas, always pushing me to come up with creative ways for his business to do better, and listened and challenged. Hewas not afraid to try something new. It was a successful partnership.
Our practices are businesses but there are personal elements that make what we do extremely satisfying and enjoyable. He was one of those elements. I loved him and will miss him.
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