Walter Kimball Massie, 88, long a photographer for Sports Illustrated and SKI Magazine, died December 2, 2018, at his home in Lyonsville, New York.
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Massie attended Yale University on a scholarship, graduating in 1951 with a degree in English. He served in military intelligence during the Korean War, then married Kate Toda in 1956 and settled in Brooklyn. As a freelance photographer, he specialized in outdoor sports, shooting features for Life, Look, Sports Illustrated and other magazines. At SKI, he was both a writer and photographer, and often shot features written by Mort Lund (see obituary, this page).
Following Kate’s death, in 1965 Massie married Lorna Scott. The family moved upstate to Accord, N.Y. in 1973, where Massie became involved in environmental policy, chairing the Ulster County Environmental Management Council for a number of years. He spent many winters in Vail, and contributed to SKI into the 1980s. He is survived by wife Lorna, children Pia, Miranda and Luke; four grandchildren, two brothers and numerous nieces and nephews.
Add new comment