Get to Know Tim Walz's Family
Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota burst onto the national scene earlier this summer when Vice President Kamala Harris selected him to be her running mate. When Walz formally accepted the nomination for vice president at the Democratic National Convention, his family joined him on stage after. On the eve of Election Day, and his family will be once again in the spotlight.
Here, a guide to Tim Walz's family tree:
Below, meet all the members of Tim Walz's family.
Tim Walz's parents: James F. Walz and Darlene Rose Reiman
Tim Walz's father, James F. Walz (b. 1929, d. 1984), was the son of a butcher. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, attended Peru State Teachers College, and worked as a public school administrator. He passed away in 1984, when Tim was 19 years old, after suffering a brief illness.
"This photo is of my grandfather who had a meat locker, was butcher in a small town, and English was his second language," Tim wrote of the above picture. "His son and my father went to college and beyond to became a teacher, and then a school Superintendent in a small town not far from his father’s business where he would return to help, eventually bringing along my siblings and me." He added, "The values of hard work, family, and education were important to my grandfather and father. And although I lost my father when I was still in my teens, I’m forever grateful for the values that my father and grandfather instilled in me and are practiced in the Walz family."
Tim Walz's mother, Darlene Rose Walz (née Reiman), grew up in Butte and still lives in Butte, Nebraska. Per the Los Angeles Times, 'Walz’s mother, Darlene, still lives in town, and some residents said that while they don’t agree with her son’s politics, they try not to talk about it because they don’t want to hurt her feelings." According to the StarTribune, Darlene "occasionally comes to visit him at the Capitol," Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The Daily Beast reported Darlene is a "lifelong Democrat who campaigned with her son when he successfully ran for Congress, barnstormed 'every town in Minnesota' when he ran for governor, and attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to see her son, Tim, accept his party’s nomination for vice president."
Tim Walz's wife: Gwen Whipple
Gwen Walz (née Whipple) (b. 1966), the daughter of Val Whipple nd Linnea Whipple (née Wacker), is the oldest of four sisters. She was raised in Ivanhoe, Minnesota, and attended Gustavus Adolphus College and Minnesota State University. She started teaching English in Alliance, Nebraska, where she met Tim in 1993. The next year they married, and moved back to Minnesota, where they both began teaching at Mankato West High School. In 2004, she stopped teaching English and became the assessment coordinator for Mankato's school district. She was in that job until 2018 when Tim was elected governor. "We have always worked as a partnership," Gwen said of her relationship with Tim. "We are still one another’s closest advisers."
Tim Walz's daughter: Hope Walz
Tim's eldest child, Hope Walz, was born in 2001. She grew up in Minnesota, and last year, she graduated from Montana State University in Bozeman with a bachelor's degree, where she majored in Criminology and a minored in Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies. She works as a ski instructor at Big Sky and a social worker at a homeless shelter Bozeman, and has been a constant presence on the campaign trail with her dad.
Tim Walz's son: Gus Walz
Tim's youngest child, Gus Walz, was born in 2006. He's currently a high school student in Minnesota. According to a statement released by the Walzes, he has a non-verbal learning disorder. "When our youngest Gus was growing up, it became increasingly clear that he was different from his classmates. Gus preferred video games and spending more time by himself," they said. "When he was becoming a teenager, we learned that Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder in addition to an anxiety disorder and ADHD, conditions that millions of Americans also have."
Tim Walz's siblings Jeff Walz, Craig Walz, and Sandy Dietrich
Tim has three siblings, two of which are alive: Jeff Walz and Sandy Dietrich (née Walz). Jeff and Sandy, like Tim, graduated from Chadron State College. Jeff now lives in Florida with his wife, Laurie, and Sandy still lives in Nebraska, in Alliance, with her husband Scott.
One of Tim's brothers, Craig Walz, sadly passed away in 2016 in an accident. He was camping with his son and family friends in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness when a storm hit. He was survived by his wife, Julie Slominski, his children, Jacob and Avery.
Per his obituary in the Norfolk Daily News, "Teaching was Craig’s passion and he cared deeply about his students’ success. He would often arrive early and leave late to tutor students who wanted a little extra help. His classroom was spirited, and he strived to create a compassionate, dynamic and fun learning environment. Taking what he learned growing up, he also worked to instill a sense of civic responsibility among his students. On Earth Day, he would hold a friendly competition to see which team of students could pick up the most litter during one 90-minute class period. And in 2007, when floods hit the St. Charles area, Craig — then the head football coach at St. Charles — gave his football team a choice: either go on with practice or go help the community recover and rebuild. The players chose the latter."
The obit continued, "When Craig wasn’t in the classroom, you could find him doing other things he loved: spending time with his family and friends, enjoying the great outdoors by camping, fishing, golfing or boating, and attending local football games. He also loved cheering for his children in competitive swimming events. Craig fully embraced any activity in which Jake and Avery participated, and often coached their teams. Throughout the neighborhood and community, Craig was well known as someone who would always lend a helping hand. He strongly believed in helping build families, neighborhoods and communities."
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