Cynthia Ann Walker

Cynthia Ann Walker was born on September 26, 1944 in Boston, Massachusetts to Mary

(Slade) and Cedric Walker. Her father died when she was quite young and she was raised by her

mother in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She graduated from Dana High School in 1962 and was

awarded a National Merit Scholarship for her high test scores. From there she went on to study

at Boston University where she earned her Bachelors of Arts in Government in 1968.

After college, she worked various jobs, including as a secretary to Dean Griswold at

Harvard Law School who, as Cynthia recounted, did not encourage her to actually attend law

school since she was a woman and would be taking the place of a man who needed to support his

family. Fortunately, Cynthia did not listen to Dean Griswold and instead, took the advice of an

Englishman who suggested she go to Cambridge to study law and in 1970 she earned an

LLB/LLM. Upon graduating from Cambridge, she worked various jobs and worked for the U.S.

government. In 1978, she married Guido Brosio who was also a lawyer and several years later they

divorced.

In 1983, Cynthia went back to graduate school at Harvard Law School as a visiting scholar

and then earned her J.D. from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1987.

Cynthia lived in many different countries and spoke several languages fluently (namely

French, Italian and German); she enjoyed living and working abroad and she stayed active with

several international groups in the Washington D.C. area. Cynthia worked for numerous

international organizations, including the U.N., UNIDO, OECD, FAO, The African Development

Bank and the European Union. Her work included being an attorney advisor and a procurement

officer. She was an avid follower of domestic and international politics and volunteered at the

White House from 2008 through 2016. Cynthia also volunteered with the Opera Society in

Sarasota, Florida where she also lived for a few years.

Cynthia enjoyed helping other people, whether it was a newly arrived immigrant or

someone who wanted to attend graduate school, or someone who needed legal assistance with a

specific matter. Cynthia went out of her way to assist them and if she couldn’t help them directly,

she would call on her friends to find additional assistance and advice.

Cynthia also enjoyed attending lectures, theatre and dance performances, as well as getting

together with friends for dinner or a glass of wine. Cynthia was a long-time resident of the

Watergate West Cooperative in Washington, D.C. and was involved in her community there.

Cynthia died on November 29, 2023. She is survived by her maternal first cousins once

removed, David Hammons of Reno, Nevada and Anne Spiker of Gold Canyon, Arizona, and her

paternal first cousins once removed, Mary Townsend of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Margaret

Townsend of Lawrence, Kansas.