Walter Adams Bingham, Jr., known to all as Bing, died on May 13, in Duxbury, MA from chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He was born on August 27, 1930 in Orange Memorial Hospital, Orange, NJ. His parents were Walter and Janet (McMillen) Bingham.
Bing graduated from The Hill School in Pottstown, PA in 1948. He attended Yale for one semester, and then moved to Los Angeles to live with his mother, sister and stepfather, author Robert Nathan. He took courses at UCLA and worked as a copy boy at the Los Angeles Examiner.
During the Korean war he joined the U.S. Air Force for a four-year term of service. He was stationed at Sampson Air Force base in Geneva, as a medic.
Thanks to a friend Bing heard “they’re hiring” at Sports Illustrated. In his own words he said “My life didn’t really begin until Oct. 20, 1955 when I walked in the door at SI.” He became a writer and editor for the fledgling magazine, remaining there until 1988, and continued as a freelance contributor until 2000.
Bing was a lifelong runner and completed his first Boston Marathon in 1965. His all time best came in the New York Marathon at age 50. His last race was at age 86 – the Truro 5K – in 2016.
In 2002 Bill Higgins, Sports Editor of The Cape Cod Times, invited him to introduce readers to The Masters golf tournament. He did so, and continued writing regular sports columns for the paper for 18 years, with the last one just a few weeks ago.
Bing raised his family in Port Washington and in 1991 moved to Truro, MA, a place dear to his heart. He resided at the Village at Duxbury since 2016.
He is survived by his wife Betty (Bredin), sister Frances Kerr of Tampa FL, son Eric of Truro, daughters Liza of Cambridge, and Amy of El Cerrito, CA. His son David died in 1990 at age 32. Other survivors include Catherine Bingham, Ishak Kang, and grandchildren Caroline and Connor Bingham and D.J. and Zander Kang.
A memorial service will be held in Truro at a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to the Truro Conservation Trust where he served as a board member in the 1990’s.
