Jay Randall Walter was born November 7th, 1953 in Westwood, California. Both his parents passed while Jay was a young man and he moved in with his uncle in Downey, California.
Jay spent time studying at University of Southern California and UC Irvine and later joined the United States Army as a Special Forces Pathfinder and was cross trained with field medic skills. He served two tours in Vietnam and was honorably discharged in 1974.
Jay returned to the States and attended Paramedic school at University of California – Los Angeles Medical Center. He began working on an ambulance in 1977 and was Gerri Schmutz’s first Paramedic partner in 1978. Jay and Gerri were married in 1982 and worked for Medevac Ambulance Service until 1985 when they moved to Morgan Hill and both volunteered for the Morgan Hill Fire Department.
Jay was hired as a full-time Morgan Hill firefighter in 1988 and worked there until he was hired by the Berkeley Fire Department as a firefighter/paramedic in 1993. Jay was promoted to Apparatus Operator in 2001. During his tenure, he served as a SWAT Paramedic for the Berkeley Police Department’s Hostage Negotiations Team, he was an instructor for the Counter Narcotics and Terrorism Operational Medical Support Program (CONTOMS) in addition to the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA). Jay was also a member of the Urban Search & Rescue Team located out of Oakland, CA. Visitation will be on Friday, April 11, 2008 from 4:00-8:00 P.M. at Johnson Funeral Home, 17720 Monterey Street in Morgan Hill. A funeral service will take place on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at 11:00 A.M. at St. Josephs Parish on Addison St. in Berkeley, CA. Interment will be private.
