Walter W. Leighton

Sept. 6, 1907 - Aug. 27, 1988

Walter W. Leighton, 80, retired professor of mathematics at the University of Missouri-Columbia and former South Bend resident, died Aug. 27, 1988. Private family services were held at Memorial Park Cemetery, Columbia, Mo.

Mr. Leighton was born Sept. 6, 1907, in Toledo, Ohio, and grew up in South Bend. On Dec. 28, 1937, in Chcago, he married Mary Virginia McKee, who survives. Also surviving are a son, McKee; and a brother, Judd Leighton of South Bend.

Mr. Leighton graduated from South Bend Central High School in 1924. He received his bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and his master's and doctoral degrees at Harvard University. He was an instructor at Harvard and the University of Rochester, and lecturer, secretary to the board of trustees, and assistant to the president of Rice Institute.

He was a Luther Marion Defoe distinguished professor of mathematics at the University of Missouri-Columbia, from which he retired as a distinguished emeritus professor. He had written more than 50 research publications and books. During World War II, he did war research for the Office of Scientific Research and Development. He was a of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Sigma members Nu, and in South Bend had been a member of the First Presbyterian Church.

Memorial contributions may be made to the University of Missouri-Columbia for the Walter Leighton Mathematics Scholarship Fund, c/o Jerry Lange, 202 Math Science Building, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Mo. 65211

Sources: Ancestry.com, Legacy.com and FindAGrave.com

08/31/2024 EJS