John Walker

John Robert Walker, 80, died Monday, November 10, 2008 at Snyder Oaks Care Center in Snyder. As he requested, his body will be cremated. A memorialcommittal service will be held at Elmwood Memorial Park at a later date. Arrangements are being made through Elmwood Funeral Home, 5750 HWY 277 South.

Mr. Walker was born on February 2, 1928 in Lamar County, Texas the son of John Ralph and Nancy Zell Warren Walker. As a small child, he moved with his parents to west Texas. He attended schools in Merkel and Abilene, graduating from Abilene High School in 1945. He attended Texas AM University one year before enlisting in the U.S. Navy. Following boot training at Camp Lawrence in San Diego, California, he was transferred to New London, Connecticut, where he attended submarine school. He was assigned to the U.S.S. Chopper and stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

He was selected to participate in the new Navy R.O.T.C. program and enrolled at University of Mississippi, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and a Petroleum Engineer major. He later transferred to the University of Oklahoma to complete his education. He worked in the west Texas oil fields until the oil business bottomed out, then was employed by Texas Instruments and transferred to California. He spent his next 20 years working for Avnet Electronics until his retirement.

He was married to Betty Flanagan of Pittsboro, Mississippi, and they had three children, Beth, Bob and Amy.

A massive stroke in 2000 resulted in his being re-located to Snyder to be near family members. Walker was a multi-talented person. He could play several musical instruments, painted in oils and watercolors, sang in his church choir, built stereo systems, and built a Cadillac automobile from a kit. His hobbies included working crossword puzzles, watching TV game shows, and watching sports-especially when it involved his beloved University of Oklahoma Sooners.

Mr. Walker was preceded in death by his parents, an infant daughter, and his son, Bob.

Survivors include his sister, Ann Smartt of Snyder; two daughters, Beth Davis and Amy Roberts and husband Bill all of Florida; a niece, DeeDee Lynch and husband Mike of St. Helens, England; four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and several cousins, great-niece and great-nephews.
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