The Daily Oklahoman 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 
July 19, 2009

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr., was raised in Houston, Texas. He went to Houston's San Jacinto High School. Cronkite moved to the Tulsa [Oklahoma] area at 6 months of age. He, his mother and his grandparents lived for about a year in Sapulpa while his father served in World War I. The family subsequently moved to Kansas City and then Houston.

Walter Cronkite's final resting place will be next to his late wife in Missouri, where the two first met, his chief of staff said Saturday. A private funeral service was scheduled for Thursday at St. Bartholomew's Church. Adler said the Rev. William Tully will preside over the Episcopal service at the Park Avenue church, which the Cronkites attended for many years.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Walter and Betsy Cronkite Foundation

He entered broadcasting as a radio announcer for WKY in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1936, he met his future wife, Mary Elizabeth Maxwell (known by her nickname "Betsy"), while working as the sports announcer for KCMO (AM) in Kansas City, Missouri.[7][3] His broadcast name was "Walter Wilcox".

Compiled, transcribed and submitted by Marti Graham. October 2026. Information posted for educational purposes for viewers and researchers. The contributor is not related to nor researching any of the above.

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