Necrology

Milton James Walters '64

May. 21, 1942-Jul. 15, 2021

Milton “Milt” James Walters ’64, P’88 died following a brief illness on July 15, 2021, in Lyme, Conn. Born in Hornell, N.Y., on May 21, 1942, he came to Hamilton from Calhoun High School in Merrick, N.Y. At Hamilton, he majored in psychology and was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. In May of his junior year, Milt married Caroline Houck, whom he had known since high school. A year later, in May of his senior year, he introduced his fellow DKEs to their firstborn, Melissa Ann.

Following his graduation, the Walters family returned to Merrick, and Milt started as a bank trainee at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., but, as he would later recall, he “quickly got tired of the slow pace” of banking. In September 1965, he joined A.G. Becker Investment Bank, rising to the position of vice president four years later and, in 1978, to managing director in charge of investment banking for financial institutions. In 1984, following Becker’s acquisition by Merrill Lynch, Milt moved to Warburg Paribas Becker and from there to Smith Barney where he established the Financial Institutions Group. In 1988, he set up his own “boutique investment firm,” Tri-River Capital Group. In 1997, he began a two-year stint with Prudential Securities as managing director focusing primarily on client relationships. Two years later, he reestablished his own firm, now known simply as Tri-River Capital.

For Milt, Hamilton meant many things. As he recalled in his 40th reunion yearbook, “Hamilton has left me with many fond memories of classes, the education, friends, and events. Most important of all are the meaningful friendships that continue today. Not to be forgotten are perfect freshman English papers, ‘Mumbles’ Carson and his speech classes, Don Jones and his squash lessons, Sid Wertimer’s economics and accounting classes, and Bob Lundin and his Skinner [B.F. Skinner, Class of 1926] box experiments with pigeons and rats.” 

Not surprisingly, throughout his career, Milt was a devoted supporter of Hamilton. Beginning in 1976, he led the first of what would be two regional fundraising initiatives on Long Island for the College’s Priorities for Hamilton capital campaign and then in 1984 for the 175th Anniversary Campaign. He chaired the Annual Fund from 1983 to 1985, during the course of which it reached its highest rate of participation at that time: 60 percent. He served as a trustee from 1983 to 1988. In 1987, he and Carrie established the Milton J. Walters Scholarship. That same year, he also began his tenure as chair of the committee on planned giving, stepping down in 1996. He chaired the reunion gift campaign for the Class of 1964 on the occasion of its 25th reunion in 1989, bringing in the highest dollar amount ever achieved by a 25th reunion class. 

In retirement, he served on two public boards and several non-public ones, including the Lyme Land Conservation Trust, which is dedicated to the preservation of the historic landscapes of the Lyme, Conn., area. An endowment established by the board of that organization was named in his honor: The Milton J. Walters Endowment Fund.

As they noted in an email announcing his death, his classmates will remember him as, "always a jolt of positive energy … a world-class community leader … a wonderful intellect, philanthropist, and gentleman, … always a twinkle in his eye."

Milton J. Walters is survived by his wife, three children, including Gregory “Gregg” T. Walters ’88, and eight grandchildren. 

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