Richard Leroy Walters (May 3, 1931 – August 19, 2007) was a jet propulsion engineer who died

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

and left a bequest of $4 million to charities, including

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

and the Mission of Mercy, in Phoenix. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

he served in the

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

. According to the 1959

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

yearbook, his hometown was

Huntington, Indiana Huntington, known as the "Lime City", is the largest city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington Township, Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington and Union Township, Hun ...

and he was a member of the honorary engineering societies

Pi Tau Sigma Pi Tau Sigma () is an international honor society in the field of mechanical engineering, with most chapters established in the United States. It honors mechanical engineering students who have exemplified the "principles of scholarship, characte ...

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

, and the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree with honors in mechanical engineering from

in 1959 and a master's degree in teaching from

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

. He never married, had no children, and was estranged from his two brothers. After 23 years of working at Allied Signal Aerospace he was forced into early retirement, and began living on the streets. While living on the streets, he was always neat and clean and wore a baseball cap and small backpack, but was very reserved and lacked social skills. He did not own a car. Rita Belle, a volunteer nurse with the mission, befriended Walters for nine years and helped him find temporary housing after she learned that he slept behind a local senior center. Nevertheless, he chose to leave the housing after a short time. He used the telephone in the center's billiards room to make his investments, and he completed his own income tax forms. During his last years he suffered from severe

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

and

high blood pressure Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

. He had two operations on his legs to improve his circulation, two operations on his eyes, and a

quadruple bypass Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage") is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest pai ...

heart operation. After suffering a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

he contacted Belle, but at first resisted hospitalization because he felt he hadn't benefited from previous medical treatments. In the hospital he suffered another stroke and died. He was an avowed

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

but converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

on his

deathbed A deathbed is a place where a person dies or lies during the last few hours before death. Deathbed or Death Bed may also refer to: * '' Death Bed: The Bed That Eats'', a 1977 horror film * "Death Bed (Coffee for Your Head)", a 2020 single by Powf ...

, with the aid of Belle. He was buried with full military honors at the Military Cemetery in Phoenix. Belle was the executor of the estate, as well as a beneficiary. Several charities received about $400,000 each from the estate, including

and the Mission of Mercy. NPR announces on air: "Support for NPR comes from the estate of Richard Leroy Walters, whose life was enriched by NPR, and whose bequest seeks to encourage others to discover public radio."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Richard Leroy 1931 births 2007 deaths Purdue University College of Engineering alumni Ball State University alumni Homeless people American aerospace engineers United States Marines United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War Military personnel from Phoenix, Arizona American Christians Converts to Christianity Converts to Christianity from atheism or agnosticism Former atheists and agnostics People from Huntington, Indiana

See also

References