Walter R. "Russ" Lalor, 97, of New Bedford died September 9, 2013 at Alden Court.
He was the husband of Janet T. (Thomas) Lalor.
Born in Dorchester, MA, he was raised in the greater Boston area, he graduated from Framingham High School in 1934. Following a working period, he attended Massachusetts State College, Amherst, MA (now the University of Massachusetts) graduating in 1941. He was drafted in the United States Army in 1942, trained as a laboratory technician and served in the 116th evacuation hospital that cared for the health of the liberated Dachau concentration camp inmates. Later, he was the non-commissioned officer in charge of the laboratory staff at the Heidelberg Germany hospital that cared for General George Patton following his accident.
Discharged in 1946, he became employed by the A&P Tea Company in Boston, New York City and Terre Haute, Indiana plants. After nine years in various laboratory work, he enrolled as a graduate student at Indiana State University obtaining a Master's degree in Education and guidance. This was followed by a Master's in Public Health Education obtained from University of Michigan's School of Public Health. For sixteen years he worked on a variety of community oriented activities with voluntary health agencies from Missouri to southeastern Massachusetts. This involved considerate work with volunteers and volunteer training sessions in the health field.
Part-time teaching proved to be stimulating and a move to teach undergraduates about Personal and Community Health culminated in a position at Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY from which he retired as an associate professor in health education in 1982. During this period, he completed a doctoral program in health education, SUNY at Buffalo, NY supportive training programs included: Program planning for Health Education at University of Minnesota; School of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University; Administration of Community Health programs, Brown University and postdoctoral courses in Epidemiology, University of Minnesota's School of Public Health.
He taught as an adjunct professor at SUNY Buffalo, Elmira College and Tompkins Cortland Community College as well. He served on many campus committees while at Ithaca College and helped restructure the Community Health undergraduate major. He was active in the community serving many years on the Mental Health Services; the Alcoholism Council and Loaves and Fishes boards. At the time of his demise, he was serving on the Health Planning Council of Tompkins County's long term care committee and as a Eucharistic minister of the Immaculate Conception Church.
In 2004 he returned to New Bedford.
Survivors include his beloved wife; a son, Thomas Walter Lalor and his wife Ahidde of Buffalo, NY; and a grandson, Rory Joseph Lalor.
He was the son of the late John Finton Lalor.
Funeral from the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford Friday, September 13th at 8:30 AM. Divine Liturgy at Our Lady of Purgatory Church at 9:30 AM. Burial will follow in the Massachusetts National Cemetery. Visiting hours will be on Thursday, September 12th from 5-8 PM. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Our Lady of Purgatory Church, 11 Franklin St., New Bedford, MA 02740.