United States Eventing Association

Three-time Olympic Equestrian Walter G. Staley, Jr. Has Died at 77

Walter G. Staley, Jr., 77, of Mexico, Missouri, died on October 10, 2010, at Audrain Medical Center.

Wally (as he was known to friends) was a three- time Olympian on the U.S. Equestrian Team. He rode with the team in the 1952 Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland, where the American squad won the bronze medal in the Three Day Event. He also rode on the U.S. teams in the 1956 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, and captained the team in the Rome, Italy Olympics in 1960. His highest individual achievement was an individual gold medal in the 1955 Pan American Games held in Mexico City, Mexico. He remained an active supporter of the U.S. Equestrian Team and the Olympics throughout his life, and carried the torch in the Olympic Torch Relay in 1996 on its way to the Atlanta Games.

Wally graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts in Geology, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He continued his education with a Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering and a Master of Arts in Geology from Washington University in St. Louis. Finally, he received a Ph.D. in Solid State Science from Penn State University. He returned to Mexico in 1968 with his family, where he was employed at the A.P. Green Company until his retirement in 1992. Over the course of his 24-year career with the plant, he worked as a research mineralogist, raw materials manager, research engineer, research manager and research consultant.

He was a long time member of the First Presbyterian Church in Mexico, where he had served as both a Deacon and an Elder, as well as on many church committees. He has served on the Geology Development Board of the University of Missouri-Columbia, the Audrain Humane Society, the Miriam Arnold Edmonston Charitable Foundation Board, and held positions of president and secretary-treasurer while serving on the board of the Allen P. and Josephine B. Green Foundation. Also within the Mexico community, he has served as a Cub Scout leader, a 4-H leader in horsemanship, and a baseball coach for the Khoury League youth baseball program. He was a dedicated athlete who enjoyed the out of doors, and who maintained a profound love for animals, both as sports partners in the field and friendly companions by his chair.

He was the son of Walter G. Staley and Martha Green Staley of Mexico, and the grandson of Allen P. Green and Josephine B. Green, also of Mexico. He is survived by numerous family members, including his wife, Katherine, of 49 years; their two sons, Walter III of Mexico and Franklin of Baltimore, and his wife Annie, and their two children Walton and Josephine; his brother, Allen Staley and his wife Etheleen of New York City, their sons Oliver and Peter; his son-in-law, Tom Beauchamp of Mexico, and his sons Nat and Matthew, step-son Adam Trull, and Adam’s daughter Katelyn; as well as his nephew Warren C. (Renny) Smith, Jr. He is also survived by his cousin, Senator Christopher (Kit) Bond of Mexico. He was preceded in death by his sister Martha Smith Marks and his daughter Kate Staley Beauchamp.

A private family burial will be held in East Lawn Memorial Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church at 10:00am on Thursday, October 14, 2010. Memorial donations may be sent to the Audrain Humane Society, the First Presbyterian Church or to the donor’s choice.