Edith Alice Walters, age 22
Miss Edith Alice Walters of rural East Haddam, Connecticut, was born January 9, 1922 in East Haddam, daughter of New York City natives Ida (Wiberley) and Harry J. Walters. She was found with broken ankles and severe burns at the circus grounds after the fire on July 6 and was admitted to Municipal Hospital. Despite supportive treatment, Miss Walters died during the morning of July 7 and was buried at the Little Haddam Cemetery in East Haddam after services at the First Congregational Church. Edith leaves her parents, of East Haddam; her brother, Harry J. Walters, 35; and her sisters Mrs. Audrey Miles, 31, and Mrs. Dorothy Nelkin, 19. She was predeceased by another brother, John "Jack" Walters, believed to have been killed in a motor vehicle accident as a teenager in 1934.
Edith was a 1941 graduate of Nathan Hale High School, and was an excellent bowler and an ardent baseball fan. She took her sister Audrey's children Audrey, 10, Willard, 7, and Monica Miles to the circus as a birthday gift for Monica, who was to be 6 on July 7. When the circus tent caught fire, Audrey and Willard ran ahead and escaped under the sidewall of the tent while Edith struggled and failed to escape with Monica. Both would suffer fatal injuries. Miss Walters' estate was awarded $10,000 by the arbitration board.
Edith was a 1941 graduate of Nathan Hale High School, and was an excellent bowler and an ardent baseball fan. She took her sister Audrey's children Audrey, 10, Willard, 7, and Monica Miles to the circus as a birthday gift for Monica, who was to be 6 on July 7. When the circus tent caught fire, Audrey and Willard ran ahead and escaped under the sidewall of the tent while Edith struggled and failed to escape with Monica. Both would suffer fatal injuries. Miss Walters' estate was awarded $10,000 by the arbitration board.