Walter K. Halstead

1916 - 2004  (88 years)

• Name	Walter K. Halstead
  Born	25 Jan 1916	Frankfurt, Germany
  Gender	Male
  Biography	Walter Karl Halstead, 88 WORCESTER- Walter Karl Halstead, 88, died on the evening of Monday, August 2nd in his home at the Eisenberg Residence, 631 Salisbury Street, Worcester, with his wife of 63 years, Gertrude, daughters Alice and Celia, and daughter-in-law Bonnie by his side. He was born on January 25th, 1916 in Frankfurt-Main, Germany to Fridel Graefenberg and Julius (Halberstadt) Halstead. Walter spent much of his boyhood in the Swiss Alps where he loved to ski. He attended school on the island of Juist in the North Sea where he met his future wife, a fellow student. Due to increasing persecution of Jews by the German government, he continued his education at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. In 1936 he fled Europe with his parents and two brothers and settled in the United States, where he completed his education at MIT (B.S.E.E. '39) and Ohio State (M.S.'41). Walter married Gertrude Bendheim in 1941 soon after she arrived in New York City by ship, having escaped wartime Europe with his family's help. During World War II he worked on a project to improve radar technology for the Office of Scientific Research and Development. After teaching at MIT as an Instructor, he went on to Polaroid Corporation and W.S. Macdonald Company before starting a 31 year career at RCA Corporation. There he was involved in the development of the BIZMAC, an early computer, and was an engineer, manager and trainer. Walter and Gertrude lived in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, raising their children: Thomas (who died in 2001), Alice Halstead of Pittsfield and Celia Halstead, of Somerville. Walter enjoyed skiing with his daughters well into his 70's. He also enjoyed photography, painting, hiking, and travel in the U.S., Europe and South America. Walter and Gertrude moved to the Shrewsbury/Worcester area in 1994 to be closer to their daughters. Once in Worcester, he delighted in trips to Tower Hill Botanical Gardens as well as the warm welcome and delicious food of the India Cafe. A teacher in death as in life, he donated his body to medical science and his last assignment will be to educate students at Harvard Medical School. He will be greatly missed by his wife, daughters and daughters-in-law Bonnie Walz and Joan Shanti, Cousins, niece Dorothy Lepoff, nephew Roy Halstead, sister-in-law Sonia Halstead and other extended family and friends. Walter will be remembered as a master of arcane trivia, a lover of language, laughter and stimulating conversation and a supporter of liberal and progressive causes. Donations may be made to the University of Massachusetts Memorial Hospice, Tower Hill Botanical Gardens, or the Kerry campaign. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
  Hebrew Birth	20 Shv 5676
  Holocaust	An interesting part of my father's life is that after he and his parents sailed to New York in `36, they stayed here only a few days, as they were only on a visitor's visa. In order to obtain an immigration visa, they all had to leave the country, and thus went to Bermuda for 3 days, obtained an immigration visa from the consulate there, (my grandfather apparently had connections in the Bermuda consulate), and then could legally return to the U.S. as immigrants. This whole thing was due to the quotas and other American bureaucratic demands of FDR, who as you know, was not very sympathetic to the plight of Jews.
  Residence	1916-1936	Frankfurt, Germany
  Immigration	24 Dec 1936	New York, NY, USA   [1]
  Residence	1994-2004	Worcester, MA, USA
  Hebrew Death	15 Ab 5764
  Occupation	Engineer: Systems Manager. Consultant
  Residence	Ohio, USA
  Residence	Pennsylvania, USA
  Residence	New Jersey, USA
  Social Security Number	019-22-1944
  Died	2 Aug 2004	Worcester, MA, USA
  Person ID	I1590	Blank Family
  Last Modified	20 Apr 2009

  
  

  Father	Julius Halstead(Halberstadt),   b. 9 Sep 1883, Dauernheim Hessen, Germany ,   d. 21 Dec 1939, New York, NY, USA  (Age 56 years)
  Mother	Fridel Grafenberg,   b. 12 Jul 1892, Frankfurt, Germany ,   d. 17 Jun 1967, Hallandale, FL, USA  (Age 74 years)
  Married	15 Jan 1912	Frankfurt, Germany
  Family ID	F756	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Living
  Children	1. Thomas R. Halstead,   b. 9 Mar 1944, Boston, MA, USA ,   d. 9 Jan 2001, Alhambra, CA, USA  (Age 56 years)   2. Living   3. Living
  Last Modified	16 May 2006
  Family ID	F758	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 25 Jan 1916 - Frankfurt, Germany Residence - 1916-1936 - Frankfurt, Germany Immigration - 24 Dec 1936 - New York, NY, USA Residence - 1994-2004 - Worcester, MA, USA Residence - - Ohio, USA Residence - - Pennsylvania, USA Residence - - New Jersey, USA Died - 2 Aug 2004 - Worcester, MA, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S171] New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 , Ancestry, Monarch of Bermuda from Hamilton, Bermuda.