Richard “Dick” Francis Walters
August 30, 1930 - January 18, 2021 Davis, CA
Richard Francis Walters (Dick) died on January 18, 2021 at the age of 90.
Dick was born August 30, 1930 in Romania, the son of American parents. His father was a petroleum geologist in the Ploesti Oil Fields. Dick came to America when he was nine, and lived in Scarsdale, NY during the war years. He graduated from Williams College, earned his Masters degree from the University of Wyoming, a graduate degree from the University of Bordeaux, France, and a Ph.D. in Geology from Stanford in 1957. After working for 11 years in the oil industry, he joined the UC Davis School of Medicine, working on Computer Applications to Medicine in 1967. His career evolved due, as he said, to serendipity. He discovered his interest in teaching while he was a graduate student, and in the oil business started working with computers. Glen Snodgrass, a next-door neighbor in New Orleans, invited Dick to come to the newly opened School of Medicine at UC Davis to apply his computer knowledge to teaching and medical records. Dick was a true pioneer in the computer field - his passion for teaching and learning led him to develop ways to use technology to support hybrid and online forms of learning as an alternative to traditional lecture style instruction. He helped form, and served as the first chair of the Department of Computer Science from 1983 to 1989. He retired in 2000, but remained active in teaching and learning and in the UCD Emeriti Association, serving as its Membership Chair for many years.
He married Shipley Newlin in 1952, just before starting his graduate work. Shipley shared his passion for singing, and they were founding members of the newly formed choir at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in 1967, and have sung with that choir ever since. They also helped found the Davis Comic Opera Company, in which Dick played several roles including the Judge in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury. They had two children, Leslie Tuomi (husband Scott Tuomi) who lives in Portland, and David Walters of Davis. Leslie has been involved with music and the arts all her life; David is an emergency physician at Sutter Davis Hospital, whose rock bands, Custom Neon and Wealth of Nations, perform often in the Davis area. Dick was devoted to his four grandchildren, Jenson and Duncan Tuomi, Ellen Walters and Lisa Walters Schmitz.
One of Dick and Shipley’s major interests was in traveling around the world. They took many walking tours in Europe, giving them an opportunity to use their abilities in foreign languages, notably French but also several others. Dick’s career took him to many countries, including Japan, Australia, Brazil, Singapore and countries in Europe.
Dick will be remembered for his extensive involvement with St. Martin’s Episcopal church, the Davis campus, and his international work in promoting MUMPS, a computer language used extensively in medical records for which he wrote a widely used textbook. When asked which words best described him, Dick chose: Serendipity, Music, Travel, Languages, Caring and Creativity.
A memorial service will be scheduled after COVID restrictions are lifted, in order to celebrate his life with the music that was so important to him. The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Davis.