Dixie Walker was a lifelong student, teacher, athlete, and friend. He came to us in 1942 as a letterman in four high school sports as well as an All-Ohio football star, and then earned his “P” on Tiger basketball and football teams. Following wartime service in an antiaircraft unit, he received a bachelor of science degree and a master’s degree in civil engineering from Princeton.

During more than 30 years in architecture and engineering with Abbott Merkt and Co., Dixie worked with colleagues in the design of department stores, airport facilities, shopping centers, and even a new city near Lille in France. Then he turned his talented drive toward an associate professorship in construction engineering at Purdue University, teaching his knowledge and skills to a new generation until he retired as professor emeritus in 1988.

Dixie’s beloved wife, Marjorie Stearns Walker, predeceased him in 2007. When he died March 19, 2011, he was survived by his sons, Richard O. Walker III ’73 and David Stearns Walker, and five grandchildren.

The class is grateful for the full life of one who served as our class president, as president of the Princeton Club of New York, and as senior warden at Christ Church in Bronxville, N.Y.

Graduate Class of 1948
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Undergraduate Class of 1946