Obituary for Walter Lenk
Walter C Lenk, born March 26, 1947, died peacefully October 7, 2022 in the comfort of his Cambridge home with Debby Knight, his longtime partner in life, music, and dance at his side. Walter grew up in a former Quaker Meeting House in Chadds Ford, PA, was a member of Birmingham Meeting, and attended Westtown School, an experience that had a major impact on his life. At an early age, he became immersed in building things, Scouting, and competitive swimming, in which he set records. Some of his fondest memories of Scouting were of summer canoe trips, especially in the Quetico-Superior wilderness area.
Walter’s interest in engineering and electronics developed at an early age. Reflecting on his life, he wrote that when he was six years old, “I got a Lionel ‘Scout’ train set for Christmas. The train set launched me on the technology route which has served me so well.” By age 11 he was building transistor radios, and at 15 decided he wanted to be an electrical engineer.
In 1967, after one year of college, Walter relocated to the Boston area as a Conscientious Objector during the Vietnam War, serving primarily in the respiratory therapy department at Beth Israel Hospital. The vibrant music scene and the many people with shared interests he encountered led him to put down permanent roots in the Cambridge community. He was soon renting shop space from his friend George Bossarte, volunteering at the American Friends Service Committee, and buying and riding a series of motorcycles. In 1976, he and a friend bought a Victorian house on Broadway, which remained his home until the end of his life.
By the 1970’s, Walter had begun repairing, designing, and building sound equipment, ranging from amplifiers and speakers to electric string instruments for several BSO musicians and custom equipment for Aerosmith. He became involved in sound reinforcement work far and wide, from venues as varied as Sanders Theater to Carnegie Hall, events from Germany to Hawaii, and festivals such as New Orleans Jazz and Heritage, Brandywine, Wheatlands, Mariposa, and the Great Hudson River Revival. Through those experiences he was introduced to old-time music and dance as well as contra and square dancing, which became a decades-long passion.
By the early 1980’s, Walter was attending contradances regularly, working with a contradance demonstration group, the New England Chestnuts, and doing sound for dance events. He began calling dances on Martha's Vineyard, gradually expanding over the next few years to calling for dances, weddings, and parties around the Boston area, along the east coast, and in California. Walter soon began writing new dances, some of which remain in the current dance repertoire, such as Twiddley-Diddley. He learned to play the octave mandolin and mandocello and developed a particular love of singing squares.
As diabetes and MS impacted his ability to continue much of his earlier work, Walter gracefully navigated those changes, finding ways to follow his passions while reinventing his work life. After learning to program, he took on numerous projects that merged hardware and software design for several education and medical groups. Walter’s website (configular.com) reflects his broad interests in the history of technology as well as traditional music and dance. As one example, Walter conducted an oral history project for which he interviewed numerous people who had been involved in Boston-area contra dancing in the 1970s and assembled an archive of their stories.
Both Walter and Debby appreciated the wonderful care and support that was provided by his doctors and staff at Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, the Mount Auburn Hospital, and Pathways Healthcare, as well as by long-term caregivers Virginia Clark and Candi David.
In addition to Debby, his partner of 40 years, Walter is survived by his sister Larhken Carroll of Oakland, CA and brothers Ted Lenk (and sister-in-law Susan Weaver) of Nelson, NH, Gabrell Carroll of Swoope, VA, and Charles Lenk of Oakland, CA.
A memorial service will be held at Friends Meeting At Cambridge, 5 Longfellow Park, Saturday, October 29 at 2pm. Please note that the Meeting requires attendees to wear masks.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Walter’s memory may be made to Westtown School (West Chester, PA), The Concord Scout House (Concord, MA) , or Pat Brody Shelter for Cats (Lunenburg, MA)
Walter’s interest in engineering and electronics developed at an early age. Reflecting on his life, he wrote that when he was six years old, “I got a Lionel ‘Scout’ train set for Christmas. The train set launched me on the technology route which has served me so well.” By age 11 he was building transistor radios, and at 15 decided he wanted to be an electrical engineer.
In 1967, after one year of college, Walter relocated to the Boston area as a Conscientious Objector during the Vietnam War, serving primarily in the respiratory therapy department at Beth Israel Hospital. The vibrant music scene and the many people with shared interests he encountered led him to put down permanent roots in the Cambridge community. He was soon renting shop space from his friend George Bossarte, volunteering at the American Friends Service Committee, and buying and riding a series of motorcycles. In 1976, he and a friend bought a Victorian house on Broadway, which remained his home until the end of his life.
By the 1970’s, Walter had begun repairing, designing, and building sound equipment, ranging from amplifiers and speakers to electric string instruments for several BSO musicians and custom equipment for Aerosmith. He became involved in sound reinforcement work far and wide, from venues as varied as Sanders Theater to Carnegie Hall, events from Germany to Hawaii, and festivals such as New Orleans Jazz and Heritage, Brandywine, Wheatlands, Mariposa, and the Great Hudson River Revival. Through those experiences he was introduced to old-time music and dance as well as contra and square dancing, which became a decades-long passion.
By the early 1980’s, Walter was attending contradances regularly, working with a contradance demonstration group, the New England Chestnuts, and doing sound for dance events. He began calling dances on Martha's Vineyard, gradually expanding over the next few years to calling for dances, weddings, and parties around the Boston area, along the east coast, and in California. Walter soon began writing new dances, some of which remain in the current dance repertoire, such as Twiddley-Diddley. He learned to play the octave mandolin and mandocello and developed a particular love of singing squares.
As diabetes and MS impacted his ability to continue much of his earlier work, Walter gracefully navigated those changes, finding ways to follow his passions while reinventing his work life. After learning to program, he took on numerous projects that merged hardware and software design for several education and medical groups. Walter’s website (configular.com) reflects his broad interests in the history of technology as well as traditional music and dance. As one example, Walter conducted an oral history project for which he interviewed numerous people who had been involved in Boston-area contra dancing in the 1970s and assembled an archive of their stories.
Both Walter and Debby appreciated the wonderful care and support that was provided by his doctors and staff at Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, the Mount Auburn Hospital, and Pathways Healthcare, as well as by long-term caregivers Virginia Clark and Candi David.
In addition to Debby, his partner of 40 years, Walter is survived by his sister Larhken Carroll of Oakland, CA and brothers Ted Lenk (and sister-in-law Susan Weaver) of Nelson, NH, Gabrell Carroll of Swoope, VA, and Charles Lenk of Oakland, CA.
A memorial service will be held at Friends Meeting At Cambridge, 5 Longfellow Park, Saturday, October 29 at 2pm. Please note that the Meeting requires attendees to wear masks.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Walter’s memory may be made to Westtown School (West Chester, PA), The Concord Scout House (Concord, MA) , or Pat Brody Shelter for Cats (Lunenburg, MA)