Glenn Walker

Glenn Hollis Walker was born on March 28, 1952. He recalled his father reading Genesis 6:3 to him when he was a boy, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless, his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”, and he strove to live on this earth as long as God would allow. God called him home on March 16th, 2024, just shy of his 72nd birthday. He was born in Culver City California to Billie Joe (Billy) and Betty Walker. He told stories of getting up early before elementary school and heading to the ocean with his surfboard where he grew up in Redondo Beach, California. In 1960 his family moved to Lake Oswego, Oregon, where he attended Junior High and high school. His love of surfing and water continued as his family began surfing behind a small boat soon after they arrived in the small lake town. He followed in his father’s footsteps playing lineman on the lake Oswego junior high and high school football teams. He joined the wrestling team as a means to stay in shape for football and fell in love with the sport. After high school he joined the navy, again following in his father’s footsteps. But where his father was on a ship, he spent his military career in the Seabee’s. He went to bootcamp in San Diego, CA in the summer of 1971, stationed in Port Hueneme, CA and serving in CBMU 302 and NMCB 4 during the Vietnam War. Later he was deployed to Diego Garcia and Bermuda. He worked as a Seabee, Military Police, Diver, and was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon; National Defense Service Medal; M-16 Qualified Marksman; Vietnam Service Medal; Vietnam Civic Action unit Award First Class; and Presidential Unit Citation. He was incredibly proud of his military service and was honorably discharged in 1974. He returned to Oregon, settling in North Plains. An avid lover of the outdoors, he provided his growing family with wild game and home-grown food and worked in general construction while obtaining a business degree at night. Later he started a career in insurance sales while living in Cornelius, Oregon. In 1987 he returned to California and settled in Sacramento, enjoying the proximity to the ocean, rivers, and lakes where he honed his fishing skills, skin dived, scuba dived, water skied, and raised his sons through junior high and high school. Switching careers back to general construction, he was known for his strong work ethic and meticulous attention to detail. After working for a large home developer, he pivoted to custom home building and later started his own construction company, Walker Construction. In 2003 he retired to maintain his health and spent his retirement years working on his urban homestead, driven by a passion to create a place that family, neighbors, and wildlife would feel welcome and inviting. His love of fishing and traveling never ceased and he took advantage of every opportunity his health would allow. Despite the health challenges he never forgot Genesis 6:3, a passage that would bring him through the most trying of circumstances, of which there were many through his lifetime. He loved his family dearly, recalling in his final days that his love for his mother sustained him in his drive to return home from Vietnam. He revered his father for the life he had built, physically and spiritually, for their family. He was a loving man, and a hard man to love, and above all he loved God citing John 3:16 to his sons throughout their lives, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whomever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. 

He is survived by his sons, Bryan (wife Carolyn) Walker, John Walker, their Mother Joanne Walker, five grandchildren, sister Nancy (husband Charlie) Ek, and their children, Brandon and Summer. Preceded in death by parents Billy and Betty, and wives Linda VanLoo and Kathy Hayes.

He was laid to rest on May 16th in a private family ceremony at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery. The family would be honored if you would share your memories and photos in the comment section.