Walter Charles Ebmeyer

Walter Charles Ebmeyer died at the age of 89 on Sunday, July 21, 2024 at home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He had pancreatic cancer and Parkinson's disease.

Born on Broadway on May 17, 1935, he was the son of the late Walter Adam Ebmeyer and Edna Antoinette Rose. Walter grew up in Lynbrook, NY, where he was editor-in-chief of the school paper and was told he "visits too much" on his report cards. Upon graduation from Lynbrook High School, Walter was awarded a full scholarship to Wesleyan University, where he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and won the History Prize at his 1956 graduation.

Walter attended US Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI in 1957 and served as Electronics Officer on USS Blair, homeported in Pearl Harbor, for two years. He was the Executive Officer of USS Parrot, and then served as Gunnery Officer of USS Springfield, based in Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, until 1961. Walter's years in the Navy were a source of pride his entire life.

After an honorable discharge, Walter moved to Manhattan, NY and began work on a master's degree in History from New York University. He also taught at St. David's School, where he met and married his wife, Mary Doelle, in 1965. They made many lifelong friends at St. David's, spending evenings after work at the legendary Toots Shor's Restaurant on 52nd Street. One such friend, Peter Clifton, recruited Walter to teach at The Green Vale School in Brookeville, NY in the late 1960s. At Green Vale, Walter became the assistant headmaster and school librarian, attending Columbia University at night to complete his master's degree in library science.

In 1974, Walter and Mary moved to Middleburg, VA, where Walter began several decades of work as an elementary school headmaster, starting at The Hill School. They moved to Columbus, OH in 1981, where Walter was the founding headmaster of The Wellington School, and to Middlefield, CT in 1985 where he was head of The Independent Day School for ten years. Walter was famous for his wild neckties and voracious golden retrievers who attended school with him each day, eating children's lunches whenever possible. Walter accepted a job as headmaster of The Gladwyne Montessori School in Gladwyne, PA in 1998 and retired in 2003.

Walter was a lifelong rabble-rouser and democratic activist. He was happiest when agitating for change—whether political, social, or environmental—and kept posters in the trunk of his Prius in case a protest popped up. After Mary's death in 2013, Walter moved to Maryland, where he continued to make good trouble on behalf of democratic politicians and causes. He was thrilled to be arrested not once, but twice—in 2012 for protesting for peace on the grounds of Northrop Grumman, and in 2019 with Jane Fonda on Capitol Hill at a Fire Drill Friday. After he was bailed out of DC jail, Walter had drinks with several other protesters; Rosanna Arquette and Vanessa Fonda paid the bill.

Walter was a passionate reader, an aficionado of classical music, an avid baseball fan, a veritable catalogue of facts about history, and an adoring and proud father and grandfather. Walter is survived by his son Christopher (Whitney); daughter Mimi Dennis (Roger); and six grandchildren: Dakin, Lilly, and August Ebmeyer, and Sage, Fletcher Charles, and Lucy Dennis. He was predeceased by his wife Mary of 47 years, and dozens of beloved dogs and cats throughout the years. In a typical Walter move, he donated his body to science for research. In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting your local public radio station.