Walter Phillip Falcon

Walter Phillip Falcon

Marion

Walter Phillip Falcon, 86, of Marion, Iowa, passed away peacefully at home in his study after battling kidney failure, on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. A private family service will be held at a later date. Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Marion is assisting the family with arrangements.

Walter was born on Sept. 28, 1936, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the son of Norman and Esther (Hurwitz) Falcon. He was a graduate of Springville High School. On June 14, 1956, Walter was united in marriage to Laura Carolyn Hann at Prairie Chapel Church. He received a B.S. in agricultural economics at Iowa State University in 1958, an M.A. in economics from Harvard University in 1960, and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University in 1962.

Walter is formerly the deputy director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment, former director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Farnsworth professor of International Agricultural Policy and Economics at Stanford University (Emeritus). In 1972, Walter moved from Harvard University to Stanford University's Food Research Institute where he served as professor of economics and director until 1991. From 1991-98, he directed the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and from 1998-2007, he co-directed the Center for Environmental Science and Policy. He has also served as senior associate dean for the social sciences, a member of the academic senate, and twice a member of Stanford University's Advisory Board.

Walter has consulted with numerous international organizations and has been a trustee of Winrock International and chairman of the board of the Agricultural Development Council (ADC), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the International Center for Wheat and Maize Improvement (CIMMYT). Walter became a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1991. In 1989, he was cited as the outstanding 1958 graduate of Iowa State University. In 1992, he was awarded the prestigious Bintang Jasa Utama (First Star) Medal of Merit by the government of Indonesia for twenty-five years of assistance with that country's development effort, after having served as the senior advisor to the Government of Indonesia. Walter served as commissioner for the US Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1978 and as member of the US Presidential Commission on Pakistan (Indus Basin) in 1962. His recent co-authored papers have analyzed the effects of El Nino on Asian agriculture, Mexican agricultural policy, food price volatility, and biofuels. Walter will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Walter is survived and lovingly remembered by his wife of 67 years, Laura; two children, Lesley (Daryl Harney) Falcon-Harney of Grand Island, Neb., and Andrew (Mary) Falcon of Stanford, Calif.; and two grandchildren, Hallett and Andrew.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Norman and Esther; brother, Gene Falcon; and a son, Phillip James Falcon.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the family in care of Murdoch Funeral Home in Marion.

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