Charlie Walker-Rest in Peace

by John Pokoski

Last winter, Charlie Walker passed away at age 80. Some of you will remember him as a part-time instructor in our department in the 70's and 80’s. I remember Charlie as one of the straightest, most modest, hardest-working people I have ever known. Charlie was a New Yorker. He graduated from the Cooper Union, served in the military, and worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for many years. He transferred to the Portsmouth Navy Yard, where he became the head of all electrical operations. I met him in the early 70's when he got his MS, in the evenings, under my direction. Soon after, he retired and began full time work on a Ph.D., again under my direction. He decided to do this at such a late age for personal fulfillment as well as to pursue teaching. He wanted to help young people. Charlie's dissertation involved building an extensive, detailed computer model of residential electric power consumption. As with all of us, he occasionally got discouraged and considered giving it up. However, true to his gritty nature, he stuck it out. I remember participating in his graduation, when the new president assumed he was the professor, and I was the graduate. I especially remember presenting his research at a national IEEE power conference, where the audience was amazed that one person could produce such a unique, innovative, and detailed piece of work.

But most of all I remember the personal discussions I had with Charlie about life in general, and particularly about those students who refused to do their best in their course work. This was one of his major frustrations. Charlie's wife died years ago after a long illness. He later moved to Cape Cod where he had an active life working at Bill Dalton's (MS68) Datasonics, became a world traveler, and participated in charitable activities. He often shared his home with students visiting from overseas. As his health declined, he returned to Dover, NH to be closer to some of his children. (He had two daughters and a son.) He was active to the end and died peacefully. He was a good man.