William F. Walker

May 5, 1929 – February 17, 2015

William Frederick Walker of Richland, Washington, was born on May 5, 1929 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He died at age 85 on February 17, 2015 at Hospice at the Chaplaincy in Kennewick, two years after being diagnosed with colon cancer.

Will graduated from Harding High School in St. Paul in 1948. He worked in St. Paul for three years until he was drafted by the Army. He served for two years starting on February 6, 1951 and was stationed in Fort Slocum, New York. In the fall of 1953, he enrolled at Dunwoody Technical Institute in Minneapolis. After graduating from the Electrical Department in the spring of 1955, he was hired by General Electric along with most of his graduating class to work in instrumentation at Hanford. Will worked at Hanford from July 1955 to April 1989. He worked ten years with General Electric, five years with Battelle and nineteen years with Westinghouse. He retired in April 1989.

Will met Dorothy at a dance at the Richland Community Center in Richland in the summer of 1956. Dorothy was working for General Electric in Richland after graduating from Washington State College in the spring of 1955. They married on June 22, 1957, in Wenatchee, Washington.

At the age of eight, Will's mother died and his father was in poor health throughout his childhood. Because of this, Will emphasized the importance of spending time with his family. As a father, Will enjoyed Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. He went on most backpacking trips including 50-milers.

Will was always physically active and enjoyed various activities with family and friends. Will was on the White Pass Ski Patrol from 1966 to 1994 and was the ski patrol director from 1984 to 1986. His sons joined him at White Pass on the weekends, and Will was able to spend time with them on the ski slopes. His love of skiing led to many ski trips with his children, grandchildren and friends. His last day of skiing was at White Pass on April 19, 2014.

While much of the winter was spent at White Pass, the summer was filled with days on the Columbia River. Will bought his first boat shortly after moving to Richland in 1955.  Many summer afternoons were spent waterskiing with his children after work.

When Will was not waterskiing, snow skiing, you could frequently find him working on projects around the home. These projects included fixing things around the house, building a garage with his sons, or after retiring, building furniture.

After Will retired, he and his wife Dorothy bought an RV and spent many months traveling around the United States. Both Dorothy and Will shared a love for travel along with many of the people at their church. He went on multiple trips with Dorothy and the choir from church to various countries across the world.  Will also enjoyed golfing almost daily.  It was a sport he had played and loved in high school, but hadn’t had time to resume until retirement.  During the summer he spent time with his friends, playing golf in the morning and waterskiing in the afternoon.

He also began working at the Hanford Science Center and CREHST museum as a docent until the CREHST closed in January, 2014. He then volunteered at the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center. Will was also a member of the Hanford Retirees Association and has been a board member since April 2004. He was also a member of the B Reactor Museum Association.

Will is survived by his by wife of 57 years, Dorothy. He is also survived by his first son, Craig and his wife Dede and their two sons Davis and Jack, all of Jacksonville, Florida, by his second son, Gary and his wife, Maria, both of Phoenix, Arizona, and their daughter Corrine of Flagstaff, Arizona and their son Collin of Tempe, Arizona, by his third son, Todd and his wife Jean, and their two sons, Drew and Nick all of Carlsbad, California and by his one niece and three nephews. Will was preceded in death by his parents Charles and Bertha, and by his older brother, Howard, all of St. Paul, Minnesota.

The family is grateful to the staff of the Tri-City Cancer Center, Kadlec Hospital and to the Hospice of Tri-City Chaplaincy.

Will’s Memorial service is at 1:30 pm on February 28 at Central United Protestant Church with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Tri-Cities Cancer Center (www.tccancer.org), the Chaplaincy (www.tricitieschaplaincy.org), the Hanford Retirees Association Scholarship Fund (Fred Porter, 20 Mercury Drive, Richland, WA, 99354), or to the charity of your choice.