In Memoriam: Dr. Marion Ilse Walter

by Marie A. Vitulli

to appear in the July-August 2021 issue of the AWM Newsletter

Dr. Marion Ilse Walter, mathematics educator, prolific author, beloved teacher, and dedicated mentor of students, passed away at home in Eugene, Oregon, on May 9, 2021. Marion was born in Berlin, Germany in 1928 into a Jewish family. In March of 1939, Marion and her older sister, Ellen, were sent on a Kindertransport, to England. The Kindertransport, or Children’s Transport, was organized nine months before World War II broke out and sent nearly 10,000 primarily Jewish children from Nazi Germany and other nearby countries to the United Kingdom. Marion and Ellen Walter left by train from Berlin, traveled to Holland, and from there crossed the English Channel, ending up at Eastbourne. The sisters were moved to various locations between 1939 and 1944 after England entered the was and it appeared that Eastbourne might be along the path of a possible German invasion. Marion ended up in Combermere Abbey in Cheshire, where she completed her schooling at the age of sixteen and was asked to stay on as a math teacher.

Marion’s parents escaped to the United Kingdom later in 1939. Her father Willy was interned on the Isle of Man, where he died in 1943. Marion, Ellen, and their mother, Erna, emigrated to the United States in 1948. Ellen returned to England to get married. Marion and her mother remained in New York City, where Marion completed her undergraduate studies at Hunter College and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1950. She held various teaching positions over the years. She continued her education, at New York University for her master’s degree in mathematics (1954) and at Harvard Graduate School of Education for her Ed.D. in mathematics education (1967). Between earning her master’s degree and doctorate, Marion spent nine years (1956 − 1965) at what was then Simmons College. She created the math major at Simmons, founded the math department there, and taught and mentored many students who would become life-long friends. One of those students was Lenore Blum, former AWM President and distinguished career professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University.

While working with Geometer’s Sketchpad with a colleague in 1993, Marion observed what was later named Marion Walter’s Theorem or simply Marion’s Theorem: when the sides of any triangle are trisected and lines are drawn from the trisection points to the opposite vertices, the area of the central hexagon is one-tenth the area of the original triangle. There have been various proofs of this theorem since 1993.

Marion published over 40 journal articles, several children’s books, and the well-regarded book The Art of Problem Posing, which was co-authored by Stephen I. Brown and aimed at a teaching audience. The Art of Problem Posing was first published in 1983 and is now in its third edition. Marion and Stephen started their long-time collaboration during their student days at Harvard. Two of Marion’s children’s books, Make a Bigger Puddle, Make a Smaller Worm and The Mirror Puzzle Book, received honorable mentions from the New York Academy of Science Children’s Book Award Program.

I met Marion in 1977 when she arrived at the University of Oregon as an associate professor; I had come the year before as an assistant professor, fresh out of graduate school. Until a few years ago, Marion and I were the only women to be granted tenure in the mathematics department. Indeed, during most of my career, we were the only tenure-related women in the department. When Marion was put up for tenure the university committees thought her file was so strong that they not only recommended tenure but recommended promoting her to full professor. We were colleagues and good friends, who supported and applauded each other over the years.

Marion always said that she never really grew up. She had a child-like fascination with all sorts of things: hub caps, sewer covers, flowers, and symmetries in almost everything. She had extensive photo collections of some of these things as well as a collection of photos of famous mathematicians, which is now the Marion Walter Collection at the Archives of American Mathematics. She delighted in entertaining children with number games and mirrors. One year, she told me and my partner, Sarah, that she had never dyed Easter eggs, but wanted to. We bought everything needed to dye eggs and invited Marion over to our house. We all had a wonderful time and Marion created some special eggs. Marion frequently requested to be taken out for pizza. One time she whispered to the young woman at the counter that she wanted anchovies and pineapple on her pizza. I guess she knew that I would be aghast.

Marion lived with multiple sclerosis for many years, but this didn’t slow her down until the last year or two. Marion was an exceptional person, a truly unique individual. I will always remember her and I will dearly miss her.