Carol G. Walter, who came to East Hampton with her parents in the late 1940s, died of organ failure on Aug. 11 in Manhattan, The Star has learned. She was 93.
“She was a woman of flair, substance, and style,” said her daughter Pam Walter of Manhattan, and a strong proponent of civil rights.
She grew up in New York City, born to Stanley Osserman and the former Elizabeth Tonkonogy in Brooklyn on June 30, 1928. The Osserman and Tonkonogy families loved this area for its wild ocean, potato and corn fields, dairy farms, fishermen, and open pastures, her daughter said. The ocean, bay beaches, auctions, drive-in movies, bowling alley, and an occasional country fair provided entertainment.
Mrs. Walter’s parents bought a house on Apaquogue Road in East Hampton, then expanded their property to Jericho Road, and eventually settled on Cove Hollow Road. Mrs. Walter attended the Dalton School on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, going on to Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. She became a dancer, choreographer, and enthusiastic supporter of the arts. She found kindred spirits in female artists here, her daughter said, including Lucia Wilcox, Arline Hollander Wingate, and Lee Krasner.
Her first marriage, to James Merritt, ended in divorce. She and Dr. Robert I. Walter were married in 1960. They raised six children on the Upper East Side and in East Hampton, where they had bought a 1920 farmhouse on Montauk Highway. At the time, Abe Katz’s farm was just behind the house, and a horse or cow would occasionally find a break in the fence and wander about the yard. Dr. Walter died before her.
Later in life, as the farms and potato fields disappeared, Mrs. Walter enjoyed walking on the beach and frequenting the shops and art galleries that took over East Hampton, Bridgehampton, and Sag Harbor. Recently, she could be found donning one of her many hats and outfits to attend events at Guild Hall, Ashawagh Hall in Springs, and the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, her daughter said.
A breast cancer survivor, she applied her experience and knowledge of dance to write an exercise book to help others who had endured breast cancer. She faced adversity through fellowship, living life to the fullest, and with a generosity that acknowledged her privilege, her daughter said.
In addition to her daughter, she is survived by three other children, Vicki M. Walter of East Hampton, Doug Walter of Manhattan, and Jenny Walter of Half Moon Bay, Calif. Two grandchildren and one great-grandchild also survive, as do two sisters, Joan Osserman Dupont of Paris and Wendy Osserman of North Carolina. Two of her children died before her.
A memorial service was held at Riverside Memorial Chapel in Manhattan on Aug. 16, followed by burial at the Independent Jewish Cemetery in Sag Harbor.
