IN MEMORIAM
Walter Scott Benson Jr. H’36 died on Feb. 14, 2021, in Austin, Texas. He spent three years in England in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a squadron communications officer in the Eighth Air Force, achieving the rank of captain in 1944. After VE day, he married Francis Byrd Bolton. Walter received two degrees from The University of Texas, one in electrical engineering in 1948, after which he spent a short time in Pittsburgh working for Westinghouse. After graduation and lettering on The University of Texas 1938 Southwest Conference champion team, he spent his spare time developing
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his well known golf swing and participating in amateur golf tournaments in Austin. He won the 1956 Bill Drake trophy for being the best golfer in Austin. Walter joined the family business as president of W.S. Benson & Company, Inc. Educational Publishers and was active in the business until 2003. He published many great public school textbook programs including: Our Expanding Vision and The Creative Eye with Kelly Fearing; and Handwriting for Communication with Lee Little Soldier. Late in the 1960s, Walter purchased some ranching property, revisiting his love of
horses and starting a thoroughbred racing stable. Walter was preceded in death by his wife Florence on Nov. 21, 2005, and granddaughter Courtney on March 26, 2003. He is survived by his son, Walter Scott Benson III, daughter Barbara Bolton Benson Padgett, and grandson Walter Scott Benson IV. Robert Livingston Weil H’38 W’35 died on March 17, 2021, of natural causes. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Nebraska and attended summer sessions at Culver. He graduated from Yale University with high honors and was elected to
Phi Beta Kappa. With the U.S. entrance into World War II, Bob’s class graduated early, and he completed Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. A few months later he was deployed to Morocco and Algeria, then on to Italy, surviving a troop ship sinking en route. After two and a half years of war service, he returned to the States. With his wife, Margaret “Peggy” Seidler, he moved to Seattle in 1947. After several years with Best’s Apparel, Bob was transferred to Portland as co-manager and when Nordstrom assumed ownership, he
