Walt Arfons

Walter Charles "Walt" Arfons (December 10, 1916 – June 4, 2013) was the half brother of Art Arfons, his former partner in drag racing, and his competitor in jet-powered land speed record racing. Along with Art, he was a pioneer in the use of aircraft jet engines for these types of competition. Walt's mother, Bessie, was half Cherokee, and died in 1984 at age 84. Walt had one brother, Dale, two years younger, as well as his ten years younger half-brother Art and an eight and a half years younger half-sister Lou, both from his mother's marriage to Tom Arfons. Arfons' family operated a feed mill in rural Ohio, where the Arfons brothers exercised their mechanical skills and ingenuity.