Dr. Walter Evans Needham

Walter was born in Salt Lake City Utah on May 2, 1936 to Katherine and James Needham.

East High School class of 1954. Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from University of Utah in 1966.

Walter was internationally known for his work with the blind, publishing over 125 professional papers. He directly improved the lives of thousands of visually impaired people through his counseling and research.

Faculty Appointments include Pediatrics and Neurology at the University of Utah College of Medicine and Psychology in Psychiatry and Neurology at the Yale School of Medicine

Clinical Psychology positions include VA Connecticut Health Care System West Haven, Connecticut Board of Education and Services for the Blind and Department of Rehabilitation, Family Counseling of Madison and Guilford. He was licensed to practice in Connecticut, Utah and California.

A contest winning body builder and health enthusiast, he helped establish Connecticut Special Olympics.

Associations include Sons of the Desert - Laurel and Hardy Club, Westport Cartoonist group, Madison lawn bowlers, Big Little Book Club, Yale Humanities and Medicine, the American Dragon Gate Lineage, Metropolitan Opera subscribers, and his group of philosopher pals with a love of old Western ideals called the Rough Riders.

Walter leaves his wife Dottie Needham of Madison CT, son Drew Needham (Kami) of Newington CT, son Dan Needham (Miriam) of Sebastopol CA, daughters Martha Needham Schafer (Jay) and Jennifer Petersen (Joe) also of Sebastopol CA, daughter Saille Simonetti of Missoula, MT, Brother John Needham and Sister Sue Hokansen of Salt Lake City UT, and four beloved grandchildren: Kaldar, Emerson, Sarianna, and Jason.

Memorial donations may be given to your choice of the following:

Earle Baum Center of The Blind, 4539 Occidental Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95401 www.earlebaum.org

Hartford Gay and Lesbian Health Collective, www.hglhc.org

National Public Radio, WNPR-FM 90.5 in Norwich, CT, http://www.cpbn.org/

Disabled American Veterans Association, DAV Cincinnati, OH, 45250-0301, www.dav.org/cc

Connecticut Hospice, 100 Double Beach Rd, Branford, CT 06405, http://www.hospice.com/pages/support/support.html