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Walter Albert Durham Jr. ’32

A picture of Walter Durham Jr.

Walter Albert Durham Jr. ’32, December 28, 2008, at his home in Portland. Walt was the great-grandson of Lake Oswego founder Albert Durham and a member of the first graduating class of Grant High School in Portland. He received a BA from Reed in economics, an MA in economics from Clark University, and an MS in management from the University of Denver. In 1934, he married childhood friend and Reed alumna Elizabeth B. Cram ’35. Walt's career included positions with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and as research director for the Lumberman's Industrial Relations Committee. He was chairman of the Portland Council of Social Agencies; he also was active in real estate development and as an investment adviser in Portland and Lake Oswego, and was a longtime member of the Lake Oswego Rotary and Chamber of Commerce. Other associations included the Oswego Heritage Council and the Oregon Historical Society. In 1981, Walt received the First Citizen Award from the Lake Oswego Review and Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce, and, in 1994, the Paul Harris Award—the highest honor a Rotarian can receive. Presenting the Harris award, C. Herald Campbell ’33 cited, among other things, Walt's successful endeavor to preserve the Tryon Creek watershed-now Tryon Creek State Park. Walt is survived by Betty; their daughter, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren; and his brother. His cousins, George S. Durham ’35 and Samuel H. Pierce ’43, also attended Reed.

Appeared in Reed magazine: May 2009

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