SALT LAKE CITY — After years of doing math during his career as an engineer, a Salt Lake City man turned his love of numbers into a hobby and created a new hybrid version of Sudoku.
LaVarre Walter, 87, graduated from the University of Utah in 1954 with a degree in chemical engineering. Walter began working as an engineer and design manager for Mountain Fuel Supply, which was later reorganized as Questar Gas. Dubbed by his boss as “a numbers nut,” Walter said he had a skill for math.
“In my work, one of my bosses always told me, ‘You can’t manipulate people, but you can sure manipulate numbers,’” Walter said, laughing.
“He’s a numbers guy and enjoys working with numbers,” Walter’s wife, Fern Walter said.
Since retiring in 1989, Walter has continued to work with numbers and enjoys solving puzzles that use arithmetic. In April 2014, Walter spent a lot of time taking care of his wife after she broke her back, and he came up with the idea for a new Sudoku puzzle.
Read the full article at KSL.com.