Cowlitz-Statewide County WA Archives Obituaries.....Walker, Harold Allen  March 31, 2006
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P. J. Stepp steppmom5@hotmail.com June 3, 2006, 4:33 pm

Published in The Daily News on 4/4/2006.
	 	
Harold Allen Walker, passed away peacefully on March 31, 2006, surrounded by 
his beloved family. 

The nation has lost another of "the greatest generation." Harold was born in 
Bridger, Montana, April 25, 1918, to Thurman and Emma Walker. The second of 
eight children, he grew up loving the outdoors and appreciating hard work. 

The day after high school graduation, he enlisted in the United States Marine 
Corps and lived the motto, "once a Marine, always a Marine." His proudest 
military accomplishment was being named "Iron Man of the Pacific Fleet." After 
four years, including service on the USS Arizona, he left the Corps to 
marry "the girl next door," Eva B. Hawkins, on June 9, 1940, a union that 
lasted almost 66 years. They began their life together in Bremerton, 
Washington, later moving to Poulsbo. When their first born son was three years 
old, he reenlisted in the Corps and served in some of World War II's most 
historic battles including Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He also witnessed the 
surrender of the Japanese in Tokyo Harbor aboard the USS Idaho. After the war 
he worked as a civilian for the US Navy in Bangor, Washington and later for the 
Federal Reserve Bank in Seattle. 

He was a charter member of the Olympic Mountains search and rescue, a 
Washington State champion marksman, a lifetime member of the Masonic Lodge and 
Patron of the Eastern Star, and a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign 
Wars. 

In June 1956, Harold and Eva were "surprised" with the arrival of twin girls, 
whom he doted upon. Ahead of his time, he was always an involved father, taking 
his girls to ballet lessons, 4-H meetings, and school events. He was equally 
proud and involved in the lives of his three grandchildren and two great-
grandchildren. Upon his retirement in 1976, he took up the hobbies of 
photography and travel and joined the environmental nonprofit group, 
Earthwatch, where he could combine the two. He traveled to all seven continents 
and more than 50 countries photographing wildlife in such diverse parts of the 
globe as Borneo, Nepal, Kenya, Antarctica, and Madagascar. He will be 
remembered by all who knew him as a true gentleman, kind, generous, and full of 
optimism. 

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Eva; three brothers, Evaret, Ronald, 
and Michael; three children, Harold A. Walker, Jr. of Santa Fe Springs, CA, 
Linda Walker Capron (Donald) of Redmond, WA, Julia Walker Taylor (Dale) of 
Kalama, WA; three grandchildren, Nina Keele (Travis) of Kelso, WA, Dustan 
Walker of Longview, WA, Sarah Taylor of Kalama; and two great-grandchildren, 
Jake and Walker Keele. 

Also preceded in death by three brothers - Danny, Earl, and Alfred Walker; and 
one sister - Ethel Wooden. 

A funeral service will be held at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Longview, 
Washington at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 6, 2006. Interment with full 
military honors will follow at 12:30 p.m. Friday, April 7, 2006, at the Tahoma 
National Cemetery in Kent, Washington. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Nature Conservancy 
(www.nature.org 800-628-6860) or Seattle Children's Hospital 
(www.seattlechildrens.org 206-987-2000). 

Arrangements by Steele Chapel at Longview Memorial Park and Crematory. 

	


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