Walter Willard Walker ’35

Walt died on May 6, 2001, in Minneapolis, Minn. He prepared for Princeton at the Blake School, where he was known for his many both academic and athletic interests. At Princeton he majored in psychology, played varsity lacrosse and hockey, and joined Cottage Club. Next step: Harvard Medical School, from which he graduated in 1940, and moved on to a job in the pathology department at the of U. of Minnesota.

Walt never forgot those six years working in the surgical pathology lab. But by 1948, calls from home requesting his return to help run the family's extensive lumber, real estate, and investment businesses became too compelling to resist. Fortunately, he told classmates, he found the world of business and industry for the next 29 years not only stimulating and challenging, but receptive to his growing social, philanthropic, and environmental interests.

Walt was married twice, in 1939 to Elva Mae Dawson for 30 years, and then to Elaine Barbatsis in 1972. Elaine survives him, as do two brothers, Stephen '33 and Archie; his sister, Louise Walker McCannel; 15 nieces and nephews; four stepchildren; and 12 step-grandchildren. The latter, who provided his indoctrination to the role of "grandfather," said Walt, proved "one of the most satisfying and absorbing experiences of my life."

The Class of 1935