The marriage of Walter and Betsy Cronkite lasted nearly 65 years. Betsy died a couple weeks short of their 65th wedding anniversary.

Here is information about their wedding, their life together, their children, and more.

Born:

Walter Leland Cronkite Jr.: November 4, 1916 in St. Joseph, Missouri. He was raised in Houston, Texas.
Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Maxwell: abt. 1915.

Died:

Walter: Seriously ill with cerebrovascular disease, Walter Cronkite died on July 17, 2009 at the age of 92.
Betsy: March 15, 2005 at the age of 89 from complications of cancer.

She died at their apartment in Manhattan. Her funeral was held at St. Bartholomew's Church.

How Walter and Betsy Met:

Walter and Betsy met in 1936 in Kansas City, Missouri while both were working at the KCMO radio station. Betsy was an advertising writer.
Walter said in a PBS clip, "She was one of the most beautiful people I ever saw in my life. ... I saw her for the first time ... coming down the hall ... and I fell in love before I ever knew her name, or what she did, or if I whether I would ever see her again in life ... I was paralyzed in wanting to meet a lady ... She worked there a week before I introduced myself ... She was so precious that I didn't dare make any mismove."

Within a few months of knowing one another, Walter and Betsy considered having a secret wedding in Independence, Missouri on their lunch break, but changed their minds while sitting in the parking lot.

Wedding Date and Ceremony:

When planning their wedding, their mothers realized that Walter and Betsy were in the same Sunday school class when they were five years old.
Betsy was 45 minutes late to their wedding.

They were married on March 30, 1940 at the Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.
Betsy carried a bible she had received as a child when she "graduated" from the Lindwood Presbyterian Church Sunday school class. They had a big wedding and the organist played "I Love You Truly" quite a few times waiting for Betsy to arrive at the ceremony.

Children:

Betsy and Walter's lives were enriched by their three children and several grandchildren.

• Nancy Elizabeth Cronkite: Nancy was born on November 8, 1948 at St. Luke's hospital.
• Mary Kathleen "Kathy" Cronkite: Kathy was born on September 5, 1950 in Washington, D.C. An actress, she married Bill Ikard in 1980. She has two sons, William and Jack.
• Walter Leland III "Chip" Cronkite: Chip married an actress, Deborah Rush. They have two sons, Walter Cronkite IV and Peter.

Religion:

Episcopalian

Interests:

Walter's many interests include sailing, tennis, reading, dancing, and conducting.

Occupations:

Walter: Journalist, war correspondent, television news anchorman, columnist, special correspondent, blogger for The Huffington Post, and author.
Betsy: Women's editor of the Kansas City Journal-Post in early 1940s.

Books By and About Walter Cronkite:

A Reporter's Life
by Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite: His Life & Times
by Doug James


South by Southeast
by Walter Cronkite


North by Northeast
by Walter Cronkite

Residence:

Walter and Betsy's home was an apartment in New York City. They also maintained a summer home on Martha's Vineyard.

Walter's Relationship with Joanna Simon:

In January 2006 Walter Cronkite talked about his relationship with Joanna Simon in the NY Post, "We are keeping company, as the old phrase used to be. I'm not making any moves immediately. I don't think it's proper. My wife has only been gone less than a year. I'll wait until that year has passed, at least."
Joanna, the sister of Carly Simon, was born on October 20, 1940 in New York, New York. She and Walter live in the same building and have known one another for years. A mezzo-soprano opera singer, Joanna is also a real estate broker.

Joanna's husband, Gerald Walker, died in 2004 from complications of a stroke. He was an articles editor for the New york Times Magazine and the author of Cruising.

Quotes About Love and Marriage:

Walter, about losing Betsy: "Terrible, it was terrible. Even today and it's been several months now you just bring it up and I tear up a little bit, terribly. You know when you're that close that long and got along as well as we did, we seldom had any serious arguments. We might have -- might discuss which movie we wanted to see and what play we wanted to go to, where we ought to go for a vacation but that usually didn't last very long because we were much of the same mind all the time."
Source: Larry King Show
More Quotes by Walter Cronkite