February 16, 2006 Source: University of New Brunswick - Saint John:
http://www.unb.ca/news/view.cgi?id=962 TEACHER LEAVES $200,000 TO UNBF FOR EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP February 16, 2006
UNB Fredericton News Release: D597
Sandra Howland, Public Relations Officer, (506) 458-7968 Mary Walter was a teacher. She taught in public schools throughout New Brunswick and at the University of New Brunswick, as did her husband, Earl. The people who knew her say her most important lesson was to encourage students to embrace learning. To Dr. Walter, education was not an end in itself, it was a journey. She spent her life waking down its roads and highways, becoming a true believer in its power to transform individuals and communities. Dr. Walter died Feb. 16, 2005, in Saint John, N.B. Now, exactly one year later, UNB is announcing her bequest of $200,000 to support scholarships in the faculty of education. Her gift will help others who want to be teachers travel the same road as she did. "American historian and novelist Henry Adams said ‘teachers affect eternity: they can never tell where their influence stops.’ That’s exactly how I would describe the generosity of Mary Walter, and her husband Earl," said John McLaughlin, UNB president and vice-chancellor. "Their support of this university, the faculty of education and its students will be their lasting legacy." The $200,000 bequest will support the R. Earl and Mary L. Walter Memorial Scholarship. It is open to students in UNB’s bachelor of education degree program. "Both Mary and Earl taught at all levels in the public school system in New Brunswick and at UNB, where Earl was a professor in the faculty of education and Mary taught courses in reading and early education," said Frances Chambers, Dr. Walter’s sister. "Both encouraged young people to go on for higher education. It is therefore fitting that Mary has left this bequest to UNB so that students may be able to further their studies in the faculty of education." Born in Woodstock, Dr. Walter was a graduate of Woodstock High School and the New Brunswick Teacher's College. She received two undergraduate degrees from UNB – the first in 1964, the second in 1967. She completed a master’s degree in education at UNB in 1972, and received a doctorate in education from Boston University in 1979. Dr. Walter was active in many organizations, serving as director of the New Brunswick Teacher's Association Credit Union, president of the Central Council of the International Reading Association and chair of the Education Committee of the Saint John Chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women. She was also a member of the Retired Teacher's Association of New Brunswick. A founding member of the Saint John Chapter of the Parkinson Foundation, she served as secretary and president and was a director of the national Parkinson Foundation. Earl Walter, Dr. Walter’s husband, died in April, 1998. He was a graduate of St. Martins Superior School and the provincial Normal School. He received two undergraduate degrees from UNB in the early 1950s and completed a master’s degree in education in 1955. He also studied at the University of London through a Beaverbrook Overseas Scholarship. Following a career in the public school system — which included teaching at Bains Corner and Lakeside, and principalships at Derby Superior, Beaconsfield, Lorne and New Albert schools — he joined the UNB faculty of education in 1967. He retired in 1982. Prof. Walter was president of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association, a director of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, an Honorary Life Member of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association, and an Honorary Member of the New Brunswick Principals’ Association. More information about donating to UNB is available online at www.unb.ca/donations, by phone at 1-877-UNB-GIVE or via e-mail at giving@unbfutures.ca. - 30 -
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