BRUNSWICK – Walter S Davis, 80, died Wednesday, June 10, in Parkview Adventist Hospital, after a lengthy illness. He was a resident at the Highlands, Topsham since January. He previously lived at 12 Wheele Ave., Salem, N.H., for 43 years.

He was born Dec. 10, 1928, in Auburn, the son of the late Irma (Davis) Davis, who died in 2002, and Leslie M. Davis, who died in 2007, and lived several years in Cundy’s Harbor. He was a graduate of Edward Little High School, 1948. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maine, Orono; and from Princeton University with a master’s degree in aerospace engineering.

He was employed as an engineer by Convair/General Dynamics in San Diego, Calif., before moving to Salem, N.H., in 1965. He worked as a senior staff scientist for AVCO/Textron, of Wilmington, Mass., where he designed and built satellite stabilization thrusters for the Air Force satellite systems. He also did work for the Apollo Space Missions and MX missile projects until his retirement in 1980. He held several U.S. patents for his thruster designs and received numerous awards for his accomplishments.

In his retirement, he was employed as a customer service representative at Home Depot in Salem, N.H., for many years.

He leaves his wife of 55 years, Joyce A. (MacConnell) Davis; three sons, Leslie I. and his wife, Sharon Latka Davis, of Worcester, Mass., W. Coburn Davis and his partner, Denise Cole, of Nashua N.H., and Linwood B. Davis of Londonderry, N.H.; three daughters, Jan (Davis) and her husband, Joseph Guy and Beth Davis and her husband, Andrew Schaedler, of Las Vegas, Nev., and Hope (Davis) and her husband, Bryan Bichrest, of Harpswell; eight grandchildren, Benjamin Davis of New York, N.Y., Mark and his wife, Casey Pelletier Guy, of Haverhill, Mass., Jacob, Jordan, and Haven Bichrest, of Harpswell, and Emily Guy and Autumn and Sabre Schaedler, of Las Vegas; a sister, Alice (Davis) and her husband, Norman Stebbins, of Auburn; and a brother, Robert Davis of Laconia, N.H.