Kenneth Eric Walker

Ken was born in Halifax and as a child he lived in the Hydrostone and attended Bloomfield School. The family later moved to Hantsport where his father Eric, a retired CPO in the Army Service Corp. was a clerk on the gypsum boats. The family returned to Halifax before the war and in 1941, as soon as he was old enough, Ken joined the Royal Canadian Navy. On September 14, 1942 Ken was aboard HMCS Ottawa on convoy duty, when the ship was torpedoed by German U-boat, U91. One hundred and nineteen crewmen were lost including the captain. Ken was among the 69 survivors. He never talked about the event, except later in life when he related the story for the Canadian Navy Archive Project. Ken spent the rest of the war on the North Atlantic on convoy duty and later with Canadian Inspection Service Boarding, in Halifax. After the war, Ken joined the Halifax Fire Department. Ken was stationed at almost all the Halifax fire stations through his years of service starting at Bedford Row, then to University Avenue, Oxford Street, Bayers Road, West Street, Rockingham and ending his career at Spryfield. A strong trade unionist, Ken was elected treasurer of local 268, International Association of Fire Fighters, AFL CIO CLC, three times.

Ken was a long time supporter of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party and maintained an interest in city politics. In 1978, he ran for city council. In 1973, with the help of the late Msgr. Richard Murphy, Ken was instrumental with others in the founding of the Westmore 57 Housing Coop. Ken continued as elected president of the association until recently when ill health prevented him from attending meetings. In 2007, the City of Halifax named a park adjacent to the coop after him. Ken retired from the Halifax Fire Department in 1984, receiving distinguished-service medals from both the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia and the Governor General of Canada. Ken was active at his church, being a long time member of the parish maintenance committee and as an usher and lay distributor at St. Agnes Church on Mumford Road. Ken always enjoyed a good funeral and as one of the last surviving men of his generation of fire fighters, he attended lots of them. Ken was immensely proud to be a member of the Halifax Fire Department and a Royal Canadian Navy veteran of the Battle of the Atlantic.

Ken was predeceased by his wife, Louise. He is survived by his brother Harold; his children, Simone, Gerard, Eric and Kelly; grandchildren, Tracy, Tara, Tanya, Ryan, Sonya, Jacob, Zackary; great-grandchildren, Riley and Madison.

The family would like to thank Ken’s friends for their kindness and particularly to recall the late Vince Whalen, who was such a good friend to Ken in his declining years and also to Doug Castell, Eddy McKay, Gilbert Murray, Bernie Chaddock, Russ and Sheila Simpson. Thank you also to Dr. Paul Renauld, Dr. Susan Freter and all the staff of the New Infirmary and Camp Hill Veteran’s Hospital, particularly the doctors and staff of V5.

Visitation will be held Sunday, November 13th at 1-4 PM from Cruikshanks Funeral Home, 2666 Windsor St., Halifax. Funeral Mass will be held at Saint Agnes Roman Catholic Church, 6903 Mumford Road on Monday, November 14 at10AM with reception to follow in church hall. Burial will be at Saint Michael’s Cemetery, Wedgeport, Nova Scotia, where Ken will be reunited with his beloved Louise.