Jacob Allen Walker Jr.

JACOB ALLEN WALKER, JR. Jacob Allen Walker, Jr. departed this world on November 24, 2011 after a long and wonderful life. The only child of Jacob A. Walker, Sr. and Emma Lillian Pearson Walker, Jacob was born in Opelika on August 5, 1920. Jacob graduated from Opelika High School in 1937 and attended Auburn University for one year, where he was a member of the SAE fraternity. He then attended Harvard College and graduated in 1942. After graduation Jacob served in the Army Signal Core at the Pentagon and in China. Jacob was present when the Japanese surrendered in China and obtained the sword of a Japanese Officer, which he passed along to his grandson, Jacob H. Walker. After the War, Jacob attended Harvard Law School, where he was in the finals of the Ames Moot Court Competition. After graduation he joined his father in the firm of Walker & Walker. In 1957, Jacob married Jane Cole of Carrollton, Georgia. Jane and Jacob had two children, the Honorable Jacob A. Walker, III and Mary Lillian Walker. Over the years Jacob thoroughly enjoyed the practice of law, whether representing an indigent person in a criminal matter or a corporation in a complex commercial deal. Jacob also gave hours of pro bono service to non-profit organizations including Habitat for Humanity and many others started and supported by Jane. Jacob loved the town of Opelika, his home State of Alabama, and the legal profession, and he served them all well. Jacob was a long time member of the Opelika Industrial Development Authority and was instrumental in bringing Uniroyal to Opelika. When the schools desegregated in the 1960s, Jacob and Jane strongly supported the public schools. He and others helped rally support for the integration of the Opelika City Schools by, among other things, placing advertisements in the local paper stating they would support the schools. In 2009, the Opelika Chamber of Commerce awarded Jacob the Spirit of Opelika Award. Jacob was chair of the Alabama Public Television Commission from 1979-1999. He was a Commissioner to the Alabama Bar Association for many years and chaired the committee that rewrote the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure. The Lee County Bar Association presented Jacob with the G.H. "Spud" Wright Jr. Jurisprudential Award for "his extraordinary contribution to the legal profession." Jacob was also President of the Kiwanis Club and served on the Board of Directors of Opelika National Bank and later AmSouth Bank. Jacob was a life-long member of Trinity United Methodist Church, where he served on the Administrative Board and taught Sunday School for many years. Jacob loved to read and had an encyclopedic knowledge of history and literature. He was the person to call for literary or historical facts and figures in the days before Google. Jacob is survived by his son, Jacob A. Walker, III, his wife, Edith Smith T Walker, and their children Mary Winston and Jacob Hamilton. He is also survived by his daughter Mary Lillian, her husband Sean Richard Smith, and their son Sean Richard Smith, Jr. Jacob is also survived by wonderful caregivers who assisted him for many years, including Linda Alexander, Mary Lee Reese, and Ruth Wallace, who was his friend for over 25 years. A funeral is planned for 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 27, 2011 at Trinity United Methodist Church, with a visitation to follow at the Church. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to be made to Trinity United Methodist Church (800 Second Avenue, Opelika, 36801), the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lee County, (1365 Gatewood Drive, Auburn 36830), or the Lee County Youth Development Center (1101 Spring Drive, Opelika 36801). Fredericks Funeral Home is directing. Since 1900 www.fredericksfh.com