Walter Frederick Laufenberg, 76, of Canton, NC, passed away peacefully at home on August 15, 2026 where his daughter and son-in-law cared for him until his final moments holding his daughter's hand. A celebration of life will be held later this year in his home state of New Jersey. For details please contact his daughter. 

Walter, or “Wally” to close friends and family, was born in Trenton, NJ on December 20, 1949, to Joseph Laufenberg, Sr. and Erica Laufenberg neé Baumgartner. He graduated from St. Peter's College in 1971 with a B.S. in Biology. After graduation, he served as a Radioman in the Navy Reserves until 1977. Starting in 1974, he worked for the State of New Jersey within the Office of Information Technology, both as a Mainframe Systems Programmer and Manager of Information Processing. He retired with over 30 years of service to the State.

He was also a member of the Catamaran Racing Association of Barnegat Bay, during which time he won the 1975 Sol Cat Easterns and Skipper of the Year in 1980, along with many other accomplishments in multihull sailing. 

Walter was preceded in death by his son, John “Jack” Laufenberg, and his siblings: Joseph Laufenberg, Jr. and Ellen Kisthardt. He is survived by his children, Eric Laufenberg (Kathryn) and Kathleen Laufenberg (Christopher), and his two grandchildren: Julia and Benjamin. 

In lieu of flowers or donations, his daughter is collecting stories from his life from friends and family. Please email her at katlaufenberg@gmail.com to contribute to her efforts! 

The care of Mr. Laufenberg has been entrusted to Wells Funeral Home of Canton.