New London — The death Friday of Eunice McLean Waller, a former mayor and one of the city's most prominent black leaders, brought to a close a life that influenced politics, education and scholarship in the region for a half-century.

Mrs. Waller, who would have celebrated her 91st birthday in June, died at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital after being hospitalized for about a week.

In 1968, she and her late husband, William DeHomer Waller, donated the first $100 for a scholarship that grew into the city's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Fund. As a longtime Waterford math teacher and mentor of young teachers, she left a legacy of educators whose careers she touched.

And as a lifelong Democrat, she was still asserting her influence as the city changed to a strong-mayor form of government last fall.

That first elected mayor, Daryl Justin Finizio, issued an order Friday afternoon that flags at city buildings be lowered to half-staff in her memory.

"I was honored to have Mrs. Waller's advice and counsel. We spoke often, and I will miss our talks at her home on Vauxhall Street and her frequent hand-written notes delivered to my office," the mayor's statement read. "Today, New London lost a legend. We thank her for her service and pray for her and her family."

Connecticut College Vice President Ulysses Hammond, a longtime friend who was present Friday morning when Mrs. Waller died quietly in her sleep, said she had been "holding court to the end."

"She was a Renaissance woman, a woman of great courage, vision, stature, grace and intellect. When it comes to supporting and promoting education in this community, she was a trailblazer. And as a founder of the Martin Luther King Scholarship Fund, she was really the founder," said Hammond, who is the fund's president.

In April 2011, Mrs. Waller retired as the longtime state convener from the New London County Section of the National Council of Negro Women, which held its annual Founder's Luncheon in her honor.

The section's historian, retired New London teacher Shirley Gillis, was one of Mrs. Waller's proteges.

"She taught us leadership and how to deal with things," Gillis said. "She was my teacher, my mentor, my mother.

"She taught us how to work with organizations, how to work with people."

Gillis told a story about young teachers going with Mrs. Waller to the Connecticut Education Association (CEA) convention. "We were 17 minorities for the CEA, and we wanted to become a standing commission at the state convention in Hartford," she said. "People weren't buying it.

"Eunice said we'd make it happen, and we said, 'There are 17 of us and 600 of them. How are we going to make it happen?' When the issue came on the floor, she had each of us go to a microphone, and we wouldn't leave."

The 17 women stayed at the floor microphones and took turns talking for a long time. Eventually, one of the other delegates asked, "Why are we arguing?" and the issue passed.

Attorney Michael Shapiro recalled being a co-founder of the King scholarship fund with the Wallers and others. The fund, which now distributes tens of thousands of dollars annually in scholarships, "had very meager beginnings," he said.

"I remember her never to be bitter and never to be discouraged and always to be determined to try to achieve something positive," Shapiro said.

Mrs. Waller was a longtime member of Shiloh Baptist Church, where she was affectionately known as "Mother Waller." Her pastor, Bishop Benjamin Watts, said Friday the community had lost a tireless champion and a strong influence for good.

In particular, Watts said, "her efforts to make the lives of children better in order to achieve their academic goals will remain as a lasting legacy."

Mrs. Waller planned all the details of her funeral, Watts said, but the date has not been announced.

William Satti, chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, called Mrs. Waller "a true mentor, a true statesman and the matriarch of the Democrats in New London for years."

Satti said that when he first ran for the Board of Education in 1987, Waller "took me almost by the arm and taught me more than the political role."

"Sometimes she didn't do the political thing," he said. "She did what was right for the people of New London."

This weekend, the local section of the National Council of Negro Women will hold its annual luncheon. The theme is to involve young people, and Mrs. Waller was planning to speak.

JoAnn Miller, her successor as state convener, said Friday evening that in the last few days Mrs. Waller had "told me she'll be watching out for me and speaking in my ear occasionally."

"There's no way we'll ever be able to fill the void — and people are feeling the same way through the state and on the national level," Miller said.

"Everybody knew Eunice."

l.mcginley@theday.com

Coming Sunday: A final conversation

Eunice Waller was keenly interested in the future of her beloved city right up until the moment of her death. As she felt her time coming to a close, she wanted to share her thoughts about New London. She sat for one final interview with The Day's Lisa McGinley just hours before she died.