Cheves T. Walling

Died peacefully at the RiverMead Retirement Community in Peterborough, NH, on June 19, 2007. Dr. Walling was born in Evanston, Illinois on February 28, 1916 to the late Willoughby and Frederika (Haskell) Walling, the youngest of four children. He was a physical organic chemist, best known for his research on the mechanisms of free radical reactions and as "one of the founding fathers of radical chemistry." After undergraduate work at Harvard University (1937), and obtaining a Ph.D. in 1939 at the University of Chicago, he worked in industry for 12 years at DuPont, U.S. Rubber, and Lever Brothers. In 1952 Dr. Walling joined the Columbia University faculty where he taught for seventeen years. In 1957 his book "Free Radicals in Solution" was published and it became a classic which contributed to the education of a generation of chemists. In 1969 Dr. Walling joined the Chemistry Department at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where he was a Distinguished Professor. He remained there until his retirement as a Professor Emeritus in 1991, and throughout his career served as a mentor to numerous graduate and postdoctoral students. While he was at Utah he assumed various professional responsibilities; as editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (1975-1981), and as a member and chair of the ACS Committee on Professional Training. During his career Dr. Walling published over 200 papers on free radical chemistry and accrued a number of awards, including his election to the National Academy of Sciences (1965), the Norris Award in Physical Chemistry (1971) and the ACS Award in Petroleum Chemistry (1984), as well as enjoying a worldwide reputation as a lecturer and consultant. As described in his biography published by the ACS in 1995, "Cheves Walling is like a large river that seems calm and at rest, when in fact, it is moving quite rapidly beneath the surface, a strong current pulling it on ceaselessly." Throughout his life Dr. Walling was an avid outdoor enthusiast, enjoying sailing, skiing and hiking throughout the west, but particularly in southern Utah. He and his wife also enjoyed traveling throughout the world, in many cases while lecturing and teaching in a number of countries including Japan, China, Russia, and Australia. He spread his love of learning and traveling to his entire family. In 1991 Dr. and Mrs. Walling retired to their longtime summer residence in Jaffrey. Cheves was a loving, devoted husband and father and he will be remembered with great love and affection by Jane (Wilson) Walling of Peterborough, his wife of 66 years, five children; his son Cheves H. and Stella Walling of Rindge, NH, and four daughters, Hazel and her husband David Nourse of Bedford, NY and Westborough, MA, Rosalind and her husband William Gumaer of Stuyvesant Falls, NY, Janie Jones of San Diego, CA, and Barbara and her husband Barry Frank of Cedar City, UT, ten grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. A private service for the family was held on Friday, June 22, while a memorial service is planned for the fall. There will be no calling hours, as his wish was to be cremated and to have his ashes spread in a number of places that he had particularly enjoyed during his lifetime. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Sierra Club or the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). The Cournoyer Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 33 River Street, JAFFREY, NH is assisting the family with arrangements. To view an online memorial, send a condolence to the family, or for more information, please visit www.cournoyerfh.com.