Wally Neibart, a flair for art and good times

YOU'VE SEEN Wally Neibart's art. You just don't realize it.

Over a span of some 60 years, his illustrations appeared in numerous magazines, from Playboy and Philadelphia magazine, to the National Wild Turkey Federation publication, in local newspapers, including the Daily News, in books, in countless advertisements, on billboards, and, if you happened to be at the Shore at certain times, on your raft.

Some of the drawings that he did for fun couldn't be reprinted in a family newspaper. In fact, he drew pictures on his son's rubber dinghy when he was a kid that almost got the boy arrested.

Walter "Wally" Neibart, who was so well-known in Center City, where he had his studio for 39 years, that he couldn't walk down the sidewalk without being hailed, died of a heart condition Sept. 1. He was 86 and lived in Elkins Park.

Wally was also a dedicated fisherman, so dedicated that he didn't hesitate to take a 20-footer into heavy surf when other boats were turning back, and didn't let the bitter cold of winter stop him.

"He was really good in the fog," said his son and fishing partner, Allan Neibart. "He knew where he was with a compass and dead reckoning. He couldn't drive around the corner, but he could tell where he was in the ocean with his eyes closed."

The Navy veteran had a number of boats, some of them called "Windbreaker." The name had nothing to do with the wind; it referred to a bodily function, but that was a family secret. And it was a sample of Wally's offbeat sense of fun.

"He had a marvelous sense of humor, sometimes off the wall," said his wife of 61 years, the former Edith Axelrod. "He was a humanitarian. He believed there is good in everyone and he always had a positive outlook."

He nurtured hundreds of aspiring artists over the years, and taught drawing for 38 years at the University of the Arts, and for six years at Moore College of Art.

After art school, Wally opened his studio on the fourth floor of a building at 17th and Locust streets. It did not have an elevator, so he and visitors had to trudge up the stairs to get to it.

"That might be what kept him in shape," his son said. "He would go up and down those stairs eight times a day."

Wally was born in Oaklyn, N.J., to Saul and Charlotte Neibart. He graduated from Collingswood High School and entered the Navy in 1943.

He was a pharmacist's mate aboard the USS Lycoming, which was the first Navy ship into the harbor at Nagasaki after it was struck by the second atomic bomb dropped on Japan.

"He told about seeing ships around him being hit by kamikaze planes, but his ship escaped," said his daughter, Barbara Neibart. "He felt very lucky."

After graduating from the former Museum School of Art, later the University of the Arts, he opened his studio and began doing commercial work for advertising agencies and business firms.

He illustrated a number of books, including children's books, and also did covers for the old pulp magazines, which featured gun-blazing action stories.

"He was a wonderful guy, funny, honest, ethical," said his daughter, who also is an artist. "He made everything fun, but, at the same time, he had common sense."

Wally is also survived by a sister, Renee Berg, and a grandson, Sam Smith.

Services: Were Sept. 4.