Walter J. van Heerden, 56, of Beverly, MA, died Mon. Oct. 6, 2014 at the Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. Born in Virginia, Minnesota, he was the son of the late Lawrence and Jeanette I. (Anderson) van Heerden, and brother of the late Lawrence van Heerden, Jr. Walter graduated from Bryant College in 1980 with a degree in business, and owned and operated his own businesses through the years.

He is survived by two sisters, Elizabeth Zorn and her husband, Brian, of Victor, NY, and Jean Begemann and her companion, Jim Johnston, of Pelham, NH; and a brother Gerald van Heerden and his partner, Noam Eitan of Brooklyn, NY. He was the uncle of Meghan Packard and husband, Jeff; Joshua and Christopher Knapp; and Conor and Corey Zorn, and the nephew of Maureen van Heerden.

Family and friends are invited to a memorial service on Sat. November 1st, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. in the West Concord Union Church, 1317 Main Street, Concord, MA. Interment in Mt. Hope Cemetery, West Acton, is private. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 6931 Arlington Road, Suite 200, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, also online at www.cff.org.