About Us

Walter Powell

ISU referee

Walter S. Powell, 81, was born in Philadelphia and worked for the Moench Tanning Company in Gowanda, N.Y., before Brown Shoe bought the company in 1926. He moved to St. Louis in the mid-1920s as Brown's manager of tanneries and a member of its board of directors. In St. Louis, Powell began skating frequently with the St. Louis Skating Club at the Winter Garden rink. He became a judge and helped start the Midwestern competition, first held in St. Louis in 1933. U.S. Figure Skating executives soon noticed Powell's leadership skills and invited him to join the organization's board. He was second vice president in 1937, first vice president in 1940 and president from 1943-46. In 1947, Powell was appointed the first U.S. representative for the International Skating Union (ISU) as a spokesperson for both U.S. Figure Skating and the Canadian Figure Skating Association. His responsibilities took him to meetings and competitions in many European cities. He proposed that ice dancing be included in international competitions, and five years later ice dancing made its debut at the 1952 World Championships. On Christmas Day 1951, Powell married his longtime friend, Helen Lamb. Besides judging, Powell was an international referee and a member of the United States Olympic Association board of directors. He was involved in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Winter Games, and was on board for the 1964 Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Powell traveled with every U.S. World Team, so it was no surprise that he boarded a seat on Sabena Airlines Flight 548.

Bio written by Patricia Shelley Bushman, author of Indelible Tracings