Arthur B. Waltermire (1888-1938)

Musician, Teacher, Author

Born September 10, 1888, Findlay, Ohio

Died July 30, 1938, Franklin County, Ohio

Arthur Beecher Waltermire was born on September 10, 1888, and died on July 30, 1938. In between those two dates, Waltermire served, studied, wrote, traveled, played music, and taught hundreds if not thousands of students. He came into the world in Findlay, Ohio, the son of a lawyer. (1) He served three years in the Ohio National Guard and studied at Ohio State University, where his wife, Adelaide, was treasurer of the Dames' Club. When he filled out his draft card in 1917, Waltermire was teaching at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. By 1920, he and his wife had moved to Columbus, presumably so he could continue in his teaching career. Waltermire was a musician and teacher of history at North High School in Columbus. He was also an author, writing a single story for Weird Tales, "The Doors of Death" (October 1936; C.L. Moore's story, "The Tree of Life" appeared in the same issue). Waltermire passed through those doors less than two years after his story was published, on July 30, 1938, probably in Columbus. He was a few weeks short of his fiftieth birthday. His yearbook remembered him as "[b]eloved friend and counselor to all."

Arthur B. Waltermire's Story in Weird Tales

"The Doors of Death" (Oct. 1936)

Further Reading

Waltermire's story is available as a download on the Internet.

Note
(1) Waltermire's father was Beecher Wesley Waltermire (1858-1932), a lawyer, lecturer, and writer born in Sedalia, Missouri, and orphaned during the Civil War. The elder Waltermire practiced law in and served as mayor of Findlay, Ohio. He later lived in Columbus. His books include The Adventures of a Skeleton, A Tale of Natural Gas (1890), Around the Wigwams of the Wyandots (1892), and Buckeye Ballads (1906). In addition, he wrote stories and verse for magazines and newspapers. See The Magazine of Poetry and Literary Review, Vol. 7 (1895) for more information, including a photograph.

Arthur B. Waltermire, remembered in his high school yearbook, 1939.

Text and captions copyright 2011, 2023 Terence E. Hanley