Colin Wesley Walker

Colin passed away unexpectedly after a short illness. He is survived by his mother and step-father – Suzanne & Glenn Carr, Washington, and his father and step-mother – Steve & Teri Walker, Texas. Brother and sister-in-law, Sean & Ashley Walker and their children Rowynn and London, brother Ray Walker, sister and brother-in-law Dena & Rich Pepper and children Ryder and Ranger, brothers and sisters Jeremy & Keli Carr, children Jordan and Kaleb, Heather & Cameron Proudfoot and son John.

Although he loved to travel, Colin lived his life in Seattle, WA. As many children do, he took swimming, tai chi, golf and skiing lessons. But not for long. He did love to ride his bicycle and kept that affinity through adulthood.

TECHNOLOGY: It was obvious early on, that Colin’s Super-Power was technology. You can hardly say enough on this topic. His first job was for Host Pro in Bellevue, WA. He taught himself Unix, so he could apply for a job as a Unix support tech. He was 16. After high school he attended Bellevue Community College for a couple of years. His comment about going on to a four year college was that he knew more than the professors knew who were teaching from books that were already outdated and after four years he would really be behind in the industry. So, at 18 Host Pro sent him off to their offices in Atlanta, Georgia where he worked with 35 year olds teaching them the new products he had developed. His fellow employees did not know he was only 18, and wondered why he would not go out with them. Colin taught himself many programming languages, sometimes overnight, so he could solve problems. He was gifted with the ability to communicate by making the technical and engineering language of the industry clear to sales people and end users. This skill allowed him to easily head up many sales and user community seminars. Working on the showroom floor one year someone asked him his name. He said Colin Walker. They said “The Colin Walker??!!!”. Yeah that’s how he affected the world. Then people started lining up to have their picture taken with him.

Over the next 22 years he worked for both large and small technology companies. His focus became tech communities where he could use his talents for management, communication, development, creativity and problem solving. If you Google Colin Walker, under Linkedin, you will find a great summation of the companies he worked for, the positions he held, his work philosophies and goals under the heading “Experience”. After the ups and downs of job loss due to the pandemic, he was happy to land at Pay Pal as a Senior Engineer Manager in Development Relations. He held that position for nine months.

MUSIC: At four years old he begged to play the saxophone and two years later we finally gave in. At six, he attended 5th and 6th grade band classes with his mother who, in her spare time, was an assistant band teacher. That’s how he learned. At six he also wrote a piece of music for saxophone which was played at the Middle School band concert and which won an award in the citywide arts competition. He played in school bands through high school and continued to perform as an adult. When at work, he played in a couple bands made up of geek peers for annual tech company meetings. You know, in venues like the Anaheim Stadium. In the mean-time he also played with a funk band named Special Meds which played local venues, like the Mural Stage at the Folk Life Festival, as well as some interstate gigs. Colin took some lessons on acoustic guitar and tried to teach himself electric bass and, to please his mother, ukulele. But his most amazing musical talent was his voice. Log into Sound Cloud, look up Colin Walker and you will find him singing a song he wrote. If you ever got to sing along with Colin in the car, you are a lucky person.

Colin helped others in many ways. Friends were always welcome in his home for whatever time they needed, he fed them, counseled them and used his resources continually for others.

Colin loved the water, swimming and boating were great joys. At nine to ten years old he raced J Stock hydroplanes as a member of APBA – the American Power Boat Association.

He was an avid gamer, who loved computer games, board games and card games.

A recent trip to Hawaii to attend a wedding had him falling in love with Hawaiians and their culture.

Colin was insightful, witty, caring, gentle, interested in people and interested in life. He stood by his beliefs and was always willing to offer a researched debate.

Colin and his girlfriend Jess, had many plans for the future. He was happy at home at work and with his friends and family.

All of us will miss this AMAZING soul in this world. The world without Colin is a lesser place.

Written by his mother.

A visitation for Colin will be held Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 10:30 AM to 5:00 PM at Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home, 11111 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Evergreen-Washelli.com for the Walker family.