Thomas John Walker Jr

Born on May 6, 1939 in Peekskill, New York, Tom was the only son to his Parents, Thomas John Walker Sr. and Laura Alice (Tarbell) Walker and the younger brother to his sister Dorothy Walker (Breuninger).

Above all else, Tom was a life long Christian, true to his love of God to the very end.

Growing up in Garnerville, New York, Tom had a love for nature and enjoyed a variety of outdoor hobbies. He excelled in piano and played the organ in the Garnerville Methodist Church where he was a member.

Through his adolescence and adulthood he shared an exceptional closeness with his niece Lynn Breuninger (Ebert).

After graduating from Fordham University, Tom enlisted in the US Navy as a Corpsman rated as a Pharmacist’s Mate and just over two years later accepted a Commission as an officer in the United States Public Health Service. Over the next several years Tom had postings in Puerto Rico and Staten Island, New York and the Public Health Service sent him to St. John’s University to earn his Master’s degree in Pharmacy. He also fondly remembered his deployment to assist in disaster relief work to Central America during this time.

While in New York, Tom would meet and fall in love with Elsie Lillian Horsman. Though Tom was transferred to the Public Health Service Hospital in Baltimore in January of 1971, Tom and Elsie were married in Staten Island on June 12, 1971. Their son Thomas Franklin Walker was born in June of 1972 which preceded a temporary transfer back to Staten Island before returning again to Baltimore.

In 1977, the Public Health Service transferred Tom to the Public Health Service Hospital in Seattle and the Walker family moved to the Pacific Northwest. After living on base at Naval Support Activity, Seattle, better known as Naval Station Puget Sound at Sand Point, they settled into a new home in Bellevue, Washington where Tom would call home for the next 47+ years. As the Public Health Service’s hospitals were closed in October 1981, Tom served his last years as an active duty officer staying on as part of the transition team that turned the hospital into Pacific Medical Center. Tom officially retired form the USPHS as a Captain in May of 1982 and continued to work as a Pharmacist at Pacific Medical Center where he retired from in 1999.

After trying a few different churches, the Walker’s chose to become part of the congregation of Bellevue First United Methodist Church in 1979. Tom and Elsie expanded their commitment to God though their work in multidenominational peace and social service organization. After Elsie’s passing in 1998 Tom became an active member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral where he eventually served on the Alter Guild as a Eucharistic Minister for the Wednesday Noon services until COVID. Tom’s Christian pilgrimages would take him to the Labyrinth of Our Lady of Chartres Cathedral in France, to Russia, and to the Holy Land, seeing both Bethlehem and Gaza and appreciating the struggles for peace and the similarities of those on both sides of the border, in turn solidifying his dreams for peace. Unfortunately COVID restrictions made it safer to hear the Word remotely, and as getting into Seattle proved difficult Tom would continue this practice through the last years of his life.

Aside from his career, church & world traveling, and his family activities, Tom lived a rich and vibrant life filled with gardening, tropical fish, world traveling, and an enjoyment of opera, ballet, bird watching, and history. Tom was famous for being able to recount bits of historical trivia, for the bird feeders filling his back yard, and his many fish tanks.

Tom remained close with family from across the country including many generations of Tarbell’s from his mother’s side in Maine and Oregon as well as with his sister’s family including his niece Lynn and her siblings Chris and Sheryl, Grandniece Jeni Ebert (El-Shewing) and more. Tom also retained lifelong friendships with many including Pat King (Livsey) and Linda King (Connelly) from Garnerville, his Best Man Rick Steeves from the US Public Health Service, many friends from Bellevue First United Methodist Church & St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Friends from Public Health Service Hospital Seattle & Pacific Medical Center, and his closest friends Vera & George Sterling and Steve Orr.

Tom was preceded in death by his wife Elsie, his parents Thomas Sr & Laura, and his sister Dorothy and is survived by his son Thomas Franklin Walker, Daughter-in-Law Monica Walker, and Granddaughters Sydney and Grace.

Tom’s celebration of life will be April 29th at 1:00 PM in Thomsen Chapel of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle. Those wishing to send remembrances are requested to donate to St. Mark’s Cathedral in his name to the Clergy Discretionary Fund or the Holy Land Humanitarian Relief.