04/02/2025
The Koons Pool board and staff, both past and present extend their deepest sympathies to the Shatto and Kelly families on the passing of their beloved father and "Pop-Pop" Walter Shatto. It is safe to say that without Walter, we would be speaking about Koons Pool in the past tense. Walter was one of a kind, his deep love of the community made the pool an easy passion for him. There was nothing he couldn't fix or figure out, often leaving his busy shop at a moments notice to come save the day at the pool. His only reward he ever sought was a hot dog and an ice cream at the snack bar where he would lean against the counter and beam with joy watching kids jump off the diving board. He loved to see the pool on busy days and remark "Can you believe how many people are here??! It's great!!!" It was Walters belief in a community pool that inspires us to keep fighting for Koons Pool to remain open for people to enjoy the way he did. We can't put fully into words what Walter meant to us, but we can undoubtedly say that we will never forget all he has done for our pool and community.
Former pool board president George Kunkle remarked:
I was president of the board at Koons Pool for about 10 years. I met
Walter Shatto when I joined the board 12 years ago. At that time Walter was the heart and soul of the pool.
He single handedly got the pool ready to open each spring and was the trouble shooter who was called
upon constantly to fix problems during the operating season. As a new board member I started helping
Walter get the pool ready to open. This is when my education into operating a pool began. I can truly say
that Walter taught me everything I know about Koons Pool.
We need to remember that Walter, on his own, helped keep Koons Pool open after an earlier board gave up
on the pool and it almost closed. According to Walter he gathered a group of people together and talked
them into forming a new board to operate the pool.
I will always remember Walter as an interesting man who always had an opinion and wasn’t afraid to
share it with people. It was always fascinating to talk with Walter and I never had a dull moment being
around him.
I will miss you my friend and so will Koons Pool.
