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Walter William Oehrle (1892-1957) was a commercial illustrator in Omaha Nebraska, Chicago and New York City. Walter was born August 5, 1892 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the middle child of Emmanuel Gottlieb Oehrle and Elizabeth Jane Fenwick, having an older brother Warren and a younger sister Jeanette. His father was born in Pennsylvania, and his father’s father in Germany. His mother and her ancestors were born in Scotland.

He lived and worked in Omaha for a majority of his life. During the First World War he served in the U.S. Army as a Sargent in the Motor Transport Corp in Omaha. He married Leah Keith in Omaha on November 27, 1920. Beginning in the 1920s Walter drew covers for the Union Pacific Railroad flyers used to promote travel to Yellowstone National Park. Walter was commissioned to make fanciful animal sketches for the Bear Pit Cocktail Lounge in the Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park. Walter worked for Walt Disney Studios during 1936, designing characters for the Silly Symphonies and Donald Duck series.

Beginning in the late 1930's Walter was one of a number of people who developed the Elsie the Cow ad campaign for the Borden Company. He drew Elsie during the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, and produced a set of five signed post cards at that time. He illustrated the book "Elsie the Cow" by Monte Sohn in 1942, and continued to draw Elsie through the 1950s. Elsie the Cow would be proclaimed one of the top ten advertising icons on the twentieth century. Walter also worked on a variety of other advertising projects including Mobilgas, Northwestern Bell Telephone Company, and his illustrations appeared in popular magazines. Walter died from a heart attack on July 3, 1957 at the home of his brother Warren in Omaha.