Walter Anderson

Walter set down his rock hammer and hiking boots on February 15, 2026.

Walter was born in Worcester, MA to Carl Walter and Ruth Froggatt Anderson on February 27, 1930. He enjoyed his large family of cousins, aunts and uncles and later attended the University of Massachusetts where he met his spirited and loving wife, Ann Margaret Cavanagh. After obtaining a graduate degree at the University of Rochester, he and Ann moved to Houston where Walter went to work for an oil company. There his daughter, Ruth, was born, and enjoyed many trips to the Houston Zoo and the Houston Opera with her parents. Walter and his family happily returned to New England in 1968 where he accepted a position at the Maine Geological Survey (MGS) and discovered rock climbing in the course of his geologic explorations.

As Assistant State Geologist at the MGS, Walter oversaw natural resource investigations of all kinds and developed an excellent rapport with the New England geological community. Walter was appointed State Geologist in 1978 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1995. During his tenure he built a modern geological survey, adding a program in hydrogeology through which the most significant sand and gravel aquifers were mapped statewide. Following severe winter storms in 1978, he initiated the coastal geology program with the intent of identifying areas most susceptible to coastal erosion, to better guide development. During this period Walter initiated Geographic Information System applications to geology, heralding the modernization of data collection at MGS. All these programs have provided enormous benefits to the people of Maine. When the federal government identified two candidate sites in Maine for the long-term storage of high-level nuclear waste in the mid-1980s, Walter led the scientific effort to oppose this poorly conceived effort for which he won praise from Governor Joseph Brennan in his 1987 State of the State address. Later Walter would serve on Maine's Low-level Radioactive Waste Authority, charged with finding suitable locations in the state for storage of low-level waste. As he did with every effort, Walter brought integrity to that process.

In retirement, Walter was appointed to the Maine GeoLibrary Board and remained very active in the geological community. He led the Geological Society of Maine in initiating its Education and Professional Development Fund which provides support for student research. He also served as Chief Geologist for the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) which seeks to unite communities via a long-distance hiking trail through the mountains around the North Atlantic that constitute parts of the original Appalachian Mountain System. Beginning in Maine where the Appalachian Trail ends atop Mt. Katahdin, the IAT has segments in the Atlantic provinces of Canada, and Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Scandinavia, Portugal, Spain, and Morocco! This effort constitutes part of Walter's tireless advocacy for geoheritage – the recognition of the geological foundation of the landscape which forms an important basis for ecosystems, cultures, and modern life. Last December, the IAT presented to Walter the first Beyond Borders award in honor of his service to the organization.

Walter loved his grandchildren and would endlessly walk infants to sleep, singing in his enthusiastic but questionable tenor voice. As his grandkids grew, "Gramps" helped instill a love of the outdoors including organizing annual trips to Baxter State Park. Passing down his love of geology, he shared his dusty mineral samples and was even known to "salt" some rock hunting sites for the kids.

His many friends in the geology and conservation community enjoyed his boundless energy and dedication to imparting knowledge. At regular gatherings well into his 90's, he would share his latest public service endeavor in the cause of greater understanding and documentation of Maine's geologic history.

He is survived by his daughter, Ruth Stevenson, son-in-law, John Stevenson and grandchildren: Timothy Craig Stevenson; John Casey Stevenson and his wife, Christine Joanne McClung; Rebecca Ann Stevenson Ferrone and her husband, Werner Benner Stevenson Ferrone, and their son, Calvin Erik Timothy Ferrone. Walter was predeceased by his wife, Ann Cavanagh Anderson in 2022.

We look forward to a memorial this summer when we will all get together.

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to either of these endowment funds:

1)Walter Anderson Endowment Fund

Don Hudson

Maine Chapter of the International Appalachian Trail

P.O. Box 320

Dresden, ME 04342

2) Geological Society of Maine

Educational and Professional Development Fund

"Anderson/EAPD Fund" on the Memo line, to:

Tom Whelan

Bath Savings Trust Company

P.O. Box 548

105 Front Street

Bath, ME 04530-0548