Harold Walker Jr.

Harold R. Walker, Jr., age 88, of Arlington, passed away on Wednesday, April 15, 2015. He was born June 19, 1926 in Clearfield, Pennsylvania to Harold Sr. and Francis Walker, the first of three children. He grew up in Bigler, Pennsylvania, a tiny village in the mountains where his parents ran a small grocery store. He and his cousins spent their free time playing ball, hiking, camping, and hunting in the woods. When he was 15 years old, his parents moved to Buffalo, New York, where he finished high school. He enlisted in the Army Air Corp at the end of World War II and graduated from the University of Buffalo with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Industrial of Engineering. He married Mary-Ellen “Tinker” Marion in 1947, a local city girl. After graduation, Harold and Tinker moved to St. Charles, Missouri before taking a position with General Dynamics, in Fort Worth, Texas. From there, his career took him to Texas Refinery Corporation, Fort Worth, and Best Equipment, Dallas, before he struck out on his own and started HRW Engineering selling and servicing fire pumps. He turned the service operations over to his son, Harold III, and retired in 2002.

His greatest love was his family. In addition to Harold III, he and Tinker had 2 older daughters, Gail Parkin and Karen Reddell, and a younger son, Noel. He spent all of his free time with his family camping, hiking, swimming, going to the beach, attending family picnics, and supporting his children in their extracurricular activities. He and his family attended First Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Texas, where he and Tinker participated with the Mariners group. In addition, Harold and several of his friends played bridge every Wednesday night for approximately 50 years.

Harold is survived by his wife of 68 years; 2 sisters, Kathryn Schottin and Rachel Schafsteck; his 4 children and their spouses; 8 grandchildren; and 5 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of his life will be held at Grace Presbyterian Church, 5500 Mansfield Road, Arlington, Texas on April 25, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Presbyterian Children’s Home and Services, 4407 Bee Cave Road, Suite 520, Austin, Texas 78746-6496.