Marion Walter

Marion was my neighbor on Orchard. Even though retired she still gave children fun math questions as they were walking down the street in front of her house. She was always a teacher. My dad was combat merchant marine during WW2 and he told me stories of what he saw (he was mad that the US got in the war so late) and Marion corroborated with what he told me. Her stories of what she saw as a child brought home that if one group is being persecuted then we all are and we cannot look the other...

"Remembering Kindertransport," the documentary film I produced about Marion's life, has been in five film festivals and in February of 2022 won an Honorable Mention from the Australia Film Festival.

Marion was my neighbor on Orchard Street. She told me about kindertransport and WW2. She confirmed what I learned from my dad who was a merchant sailor in the late 1930's and combat merchant marine in WW2. The many things said at the funeral we saw on Orchard - she talked to children about math when they visited Marion on their walks with their parents. She was the sidewalk patrol for the neighborhood and new the bus routes well. We lost a remarkable human being.

I had the privilege of knowing Marion when we both were residents at Cascade Manor and producing a documentary-style film about her Kindertransport experience.

I met Marion at the UO and our friendship continued over the decades. Always fascinated with patterns, she taught my son how to build a tesselated icosahedron out of sticks. She created patterns of kindness, friendship, curiosity, connection, and appreciation. We were particularly delighted to find out that she and my uncle had worked together at a math institute when they were young scholars and that we both had connections with Simmons College. She impacted thousands of teachers, who in...