Captain Charles "Chuck" M. Walker USN, Retired

"Chuck" Walker, USN (Ret), 97, died peacefully on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife of 61 years, Fay Celia Parkerson, and one sister, Frances Revell of Leesburg, GA. He is survived by one sister, Glennis Land O'Boyle of Sylvester, GA, his wife of 9 years, Phyllis Omeda Scott, his four (4) children: Jefry N Walker (Julia) of Orlando, Celia Walker James of Gainesville, Timothy E Walker (Diane) and Andrew C Walker of Jacksonville, four (4) stepchildren, fourteen (14) grandchildren, seventeen (17) great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. A thirty-one year Navy veteran, CAPT Walker honored and protected his Family and Country in two wars (WWII & Korea, one conflict (Vietnam) and in times of peace and proudly served throughout the world in the air (VP-812 / VP-29, VR-22, VP-31, VP-4, FAW-11), on land (NAMTD, NWC, NWC Staff, NROTC-JU) and at sea (USS Medusa AR-1, USS Duxbury Bay AVP-38, USS Tallahatchie County AVB-2).

Born on August 23, 1927, in a one-room farmhouse on a dirt road outside Isabella, GA (rural Worth County, county seat Sylvester), "Melvin" was the eldest and only son of Eddie Lee and Sarah Anna Elizabeth (Brady) Walker. Having no electricity or running water until a teenager, he said "we were rich in a loving family and did not realize how poor we were". Finishing High School in 1944 at age 16 he attended Berry College for a semester until he could enlist in the USNR at 17, going on active duty in early 1945. As World War II ended, "Chuck" was discharged from active duty in time to begin studies at UGA in the fall of 1946.

Graduating in December 1948 with a BS in Dairy Manufacturing, he got his first real job with Southern Dairy in Atlanta, got engaged then married on April 9, 1949. Less than a month later, on May 1, 1949, Chuck was commissioned as Ensign, USN, and received his Navy Wings of Gold in September 1950. The adventure begins: Pensacola, Corpus Christi, Whidbey Island, Kodiak, Atsugi, Memphis, Monterey, Newport, Norfolk, Persian Gulf, Baghdad, Tehran, Karachi, Columbo, Bahrain, Aden, Djibouti, Athens, Malta, Addis Ababa, Guantanamo Bay, Christ Church, Nordholz, Newport (again), Coronado, Barbers Point, Iwakuni, Saigon, Sangley Point, Naples, Souda Bay, Newport (for the 3"° time), Jacksonville and finally retirement (1977) in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

Retirement was brief and according to Chuck "boring"; so, in 1979, he (and Fay) welcomed the opportunity when Dr Fran Kinne requested he serve as Jacksonville University's Director of Alumni and Parent Relations, the perfect job as both he and Fay loved people and had servant's hearts. His service also continued as an Elder at First Christian Church of the Beaches, on several State and Local Boards including Florida Life Care Residents Association (FLiCRA) and The Beaches Christian Service Corps (Pablo Towers) and as a Boy Scout Volunteer.

Known for his legendary Suwannee River Raft trips, BSA presented him with both the Wood Badge and Silver Beaver Awards for his service. Chuck was a proud mentor with Take Stock in Children and helped others through his service in Meninak, Seniors on a Mission and of course his Navy network: RetCaps, USO, Navy League, Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and The Association of Naval Aviation (ANA). An avid UGA Bulldawg, Chuck was a card-carrying member of the Georgia Bulldog Club of Jacksonville, which has as its only goal the defeat of the Florida Gators in the annual Georgia-Florida football game.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at First Christian Church of the Beaches, 2125 Ocean Front, Neptune Beach, 32266, on March 28, 2025, at 1:00 pm. In leu of flowers, the family requests donations to your favorite charity.

"We lost a legend. The epitome of cool. A classic man with a style all his own. A man who embodied compassion, living with a servant's heart and had such a rare character it truly set the standard of how to live a life to its fullest. We pray his impact on others will carry on through generations of family and friends alike."