Walt, an early learner himself, supported a child early-development center in Immokalee served by mentors from Immokalee High School. These students in turn became eligible for three annual full-cost scholarships to Arcadia University, formerly Beaver College, where Rosemary was a 12-varsity-letter athlete. A Blankley family foundation also supported Arcadia (as well as Princeton). Immokalee provided Arcadia diversity as well as talent with ambition.
Walt’s high school basketball coach induced his Princeton counterpart in a phone call to take an interest in Walt. That plus the best SAT scores in southern New Jersey won Walt a full-tuition Princeton scholarship. Walt was the first of his family to attend college. He belonged to Cannon Club and roomed with Norm Augustine. A mechanical engineering major, Walt joined Ametek, a manufacturer of electromechanical and analytical devices with $5 billion in annual sales. He was there 40 years, the last 10 as CEO.
Walt died peacefully April 27, 2020, of bladder cancer. Besides Rosemary, Walt is survived by a son, Stephen; and a daughter, Laura Pantano.