SAN DIEGO -- San Diegans who knew Wal-Mart heir John Walton are paying tribute after learning of his death in the crash of an experimental plane in Wyoming.
Walton, 58, was a Vietnam War hero, member of the Wal-Mart board of directors and a philanthropist.
Walton, of Jackson, Wyo., who once called San Diego home, was killed when the ultra-light aircraft he was piloting crashed shortly after take-off Monday from the Jackson Hole Airport in Grand Teton National Park. Walton was the aircraft's sole occupant. The cause has not yet been determined.
For former National City Mayor George Waters, Walton's death is a personal one.
Twelve years ago, Walton moved to National City, bought an old Victorian-style home and made it his primary home.
Waters remembers welcoming Walton to the area.
"I said, 'I want to thank you for coming in.' And he (said), 'What I like about National City is the people in it, the small time neighborhood,'" Waters told 10News.
Waters said Walton lived quietly and also gave quietly, 10News reported.
For more than eight years, Walton donated to causes around National City, including more than $500,000 to the Boys and Girls Club.
"I think very few people, except a few (people) around (the) Boys and Girls Club, knew those donations were made by him," Waters said.
As for San Diego, Waters believes secret donations clearly outnumbered his publicized ones.
Among those were more than $900,000 to the University of California, San Diego Foundation and $450,000 to the San Diego Society of Natural History.
His biggest passion was education, according to 10News. Walton supported efforts to create taxpayer-funded ways for students to attend private schools.
Eight years ago, Walton turned a furniture showroom into the first private school in downtown San Diego. He donated millions more to Harbor Side School, known for hands-on learning and critical reasoning.
He also founded the Children's Scholarship Fund in 1998 with $67 million from the Walton Family Foundation to provide low-income families with money to send their children to private schools. More than 67,000 children benefited.
His former wife, Arkansas Judge Mary Ann Gunn, called him "a prince" and recalled that he "loved to build things."
Wal-Mart senior Vice President Jay Allen calls Walton "a good man."
Walton's father, Sam Walton, started the discount chain and the son has been a member of the Wal-Mart board of directors since 1992.
Forbes Magazine lists the younger Walton as the world's 11th richest person.
John Walton served in the U.S. Army Green Berets as a medic during the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Silver Star for saving the lives of several members of his unit while under intense enemy fire.
He pursued a variety of business interests throughout his life, including work as a crop duster in the 1970s and as a boat builder in the 1980s and 1990s. More recently, Walton formed the holding company True North, which is composed of businesses ranging from advanced composites to boat building to venture capital investments.
Walton attended the College of Wooster. He is survived by his wife, Christy; their son, Luke; his mother, Helen; two brothers, Rob and Jim; and a sister, Alice.
No funeral arrangements have been announced.
Copyright 2004 by 10News.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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