Navy (Ret.) U.S. CDR Jack O. Walker

Commander Jack O. Walker, U.S. Navy (Retired), a native of Bexar County, passed away December 11, 2017. CDR Walker was preceded in death by his beloved wife of almost 45 years, Mary Crawford Walker, who died on November 2, 2003.

CDR Walker was born on October 29, 1932, to John G. and Frances Hendrick Walker. Jack attended Edison High School, graduating in 1950 as the highest-ranking male student and served as president of the student body. As a senior in high school, Jack won the UIL state championship for excellence in journalistic writing. He attended The University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1954 with a Bachelor of Journalism Degree with Honors. He worked as a reporter on the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram during the summer of 1953. He joined the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1951, while still attending UT. Upon graduation from UT, he attended the Navy Officer Candidate School at Newport, R.I. and was commissioned as Ensign in the U.S. Navy. In 1956, he was selected for a Regular Navy designation, with a specialty in cryptology. During his Navy career CDR Walker was involved in special projects requiring his nation's highest security clearances. His contributions to national defense helped bring about the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. His Navy awards include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Commendation and National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star. While still on active duty, CDR Walker earned a Master of Science degree in Personnel Management at George Washington University, Washington, D.C., by attending classes at night and on weekends. CDR Walker retired from the Navy in 1975 and immediately began employment as a tenure-track Instructor in Management at San Antonio College. He earned an additional 48 semester hours of graduate work beyond his master's degree (primarily from UT Austin) while teaching full time. He attained the rank of Full Professor of Management at SAC before retiring in 1998, after 23 years of full-time teaching at that institution.

Jack and Mary met in Hawaii in 1958 and were married June 20, 1959. During Jack's Navy career and after he retired, he and Mary lived in or traveled to every country in Western Europe several times, plus trips to Russia, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the former East Germany. They also traveled extensively in Asia and the Western Pacific, and the Caribbean area including Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Cuba, and Panama. They also visited Alaska and Hawaii several times. Jack also traveled to Trinidad, Brazil, Uruguay, Cape Horn, Argentina, and Chile. Many of those trips involved attending operas at some of the most prestigious opera houses in the world. By the year 2000, Jack had attended over 500 operas in scores of opera houses.

Jack began his love of opera in 1946, when he was in the children's chorus of a San Antonio Grand Opera Festival production of the opera Carmen. Rise Stevens, the world-famous American mezzo-soprano, was the star of the production. In 1993, Jack and Mary met Miss Stevens in New York, and they became lifelong friends from that time on, seeing each other at least once a year and exchanging correspondence.

In 1995, at the urging of numerous friend and medical professionals who thought her experiences would be an inspiration to others who were diagnosed with cancer, Mary, with Jack's journalistic assistance, wrote the book, The Fat Lady Hasn't Sung. In her book she and Jack recount in surprisingly upbeat writing style, enhanced by good humor, the many complications and life-threatening situations during her 30-year struggle with cancer.

CDR Walker is a Patron and member of the Encore Society of the Metropolitan Opera. He was a member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild and the Opera Guild of San Antonio. He is a Life Member of the Ex-Students' Association of The University of Texas at Austin. He is also a member of Sigma Delta Chi, society of professional journalists, the American Legion, The U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association, The Retired Foreign Service Group, The Association of Foreign Intelligence Officers, and the Presbyterian Church.

A daughter, Amy Walker Bleess; son-in-law, Tony Bleess; two grandchildren, Blake and Brittany Bleess; son, David C. Walker; and one brother, survive CDR Walker.

A Memorial Service will be held at the Main Post Chapel at Fort Sam Houston.

Private interment will follow with full military honors in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery where he will be laid to rest alongside his beloved Mary.