June 8, 2009 – Walter Emil Preiss died on June 4. He is survived by his wife, Bonnie Preiss; sons: Brian, Mark, Vincent and Adrian; and grandchildren, four boys and four girls.
Walter came to St. Croix in the mid-50s and has been a Cruzan and part of the community for over these past 50 some years. He has been in the restaurant business. He was a chef. He was a ship chandler. He captained the hydrofoil between St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. He was a commercial fisherman both in the Virgin Islands and in New York. He raised farm animals. He farmed the land on St. Croix. Walter was a philosopher, a historian, a man of much diversified knowledge. He had many innovative ideas. He was approached by many people who delved into his mind for information he could bring forward regarding unlimited topics. He is a true loss to the Virgin Islands community, his family and his friends.