John C. Walker, 56, of 1014 E. Jefferson, Bloomington, died at 4:36 p.m. Monday (March 29, 1999) at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center.
His funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Beck Memorial Home, the Rev. Mark Hamner officiating. Burial will be in Park Hill cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the memorial home.
Memorials may be made to St. Luke Union Church or the Home Sweet Home Mission.
Mr. Walker was born April 21, 1942, in Bloomington, a son of J. Kenneth and Pauline von Arx Walker. He married Susan Bicket on Nov. 27, 1963, in Bloomington. She survives.
Other survivors include two sons; Jack (Patty) Walker, 728 Pleasant Ave., Glen Ellyn, Scott (Jennifer( Walker, 4110 Amber Ridge Lane, Valrico, Fla.; and one brother, Stephen L. Walker, Carmel, Calif.
Additional survivors include four grandchildren; Carly, Grace, Daniel and Carson Walker.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Mr. Walker graduated from Wentworth Military Academy and attended SIU. He was self-employed as a commodities trader.
He was a member of St. Luke Union Church.
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The following was written by classmates for our 50th Reunion Booklet. Led by a dedicated team of local classmates, the project was titled:
"BHS CLASS OF '60 FOOTPRINTS"
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I remember John as a teammate on the BHS football team. He was a long and lean running back with good speed and quickness. He didnʼt get a lot of playing time our junior year because the class of ʻ59 had several outstanding running backs. But senior year, he certainly did. His younger brother Steve was also on the team.
John was also a mainstay on the track team. As I remember it, he was a hurdler. He was a transfer from Minonk during sophomore year. As I remember it, his father owned a grain elevator there. Maybe their parents wanted John and Steve in a bigger high school for better athletic competition, but thatʼs just speculation on my part.
During our senior season, John and I both sustained deep thigh bruise injuries. I canʼt remember how many games we might have sat out, but I do remember Coach Bowers taking us out to ISU to use their whirlpool facility. I guess Coach had some connections.
(Ron Price)