They recalled him as a prankster, a lifelong learner and a perpetual kid at heart.
They reminisced about his infectious sense of humor, his encyclopedic memory, the intense devotion and loyalty of his friendship.
They shared memories of a man who never shied away from celebrating his successes but retained such modesty that he included in his ninth book a credit to the 8-year-old son of a friend who had sent him an elementary school paper on the topic.
Nearly 100 friends of John Walter Lord Jr., the Baltimore-born author credited with sparking the world's love affair with the Titanic, gathered at Gilman School yesterday to honor one of the school's most famous alumni. Lord, who had suffered from Parkinson's disease, died last month at his New York apartment at age 84.
"I never saw anyone love life as much as Walter, even when the hull of his body was battered and springing leaks and the air-tight compartments weren't working and the engines were sputtering," said Patrick Smithwick, a 1969 Gilman graduate who came to know Lord during the past decade as Smithwick worked on a book about Gilman's first 100 years. "But Walter was made better than some ships, and he kept the band playing and the pumps going and his interests fired. He celebrated life until the last second."
For two hours, those present recounted that love of life.
They remembered how Lord continued to accept speaking engagements and grant interviews throughout the world about his 1955 best-selling tale of the Titanic's demise, A Night to Remember, which has sold millions of copies.
They recalled the summer of 1935 at Hyde Bay Camp in Cooperstown, N.Y., when Lord suggested - and organized - a debutante party for a pig named Pearl. And they noted that he was godfather to more than 20 of his friends' children.
The author of 13 books of historical tales, Lord remained involved with Gilman School.
He bequeathed about $1.3 million of his estate to the school, where an upper-school history teacher first sparked his interest in history. The money likely will be used for faculty professional development, Gilman Headmaster Jon McGill said yesterday during an interview.
"He represents a cornerstone across the generations," McGill said. "So many people have known him for so long ... and every time I hear people talk about commitment to and enthusiasm for Gilman, Walter Lord's name is always among the first three or so mentioned."
Two speakers took issue with newspaper characterizations of Lord as lacking immediate survivors, a fact typically noted in an obituary when no members of the subject's immediate family outlive him or her.
"Those of us who loved and admired him for years are his immediate survivors," said Allen "Mac" Barrett Jr., vice president of corporate communications at McCormick and Co. whose father was a friend of Lord's from Gilman. "On this Father's Day, we salute an extraordinary godfather and friend. May the unsinkable optimism of Walter Lord remain with us and live in the soul of every Gilman boy."