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Norman Walker Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for Norman Walker
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Ed McCarthy, NN Class of 1982
August 17, 2024
Coach,
Eamon headed off to practice this morning, and I told him a story about you.
Rest in peace, Coach
Mac
Marion Seavey Abbott
October 3, 2023
Norman's dad and my dad were first cousins. I remember learning that Norman and his family lived within walking distance of my house at our family reunion in 1981. At that time I was was busy collecting information and memorabilia for the family history which was finally completed after I retired.
Walter F Schlech
August 17, 2019
Coach Walker was a major influence on my 3 Holderness sons, AJ, Pete, and Mike Schlech. In the Lords hands now with a well-earned rest.
October 3, 2012
Dear Walker family, saddened to here of the loss of coach walker. cant say enough about coach walker, was thinking about him today, googled and came across the sad news. the last time i wrote about coach walker was in my H.S year book. He made a huge impact on my life and the way i conduct myself and treat people,again very sorry for your loss. sincerley, John A Catalano NNHS CLASS OF 74
Dino Maye
September 25, 2012
I will always miss Coach Walker. I graduated at Newton North with Jimmy and Janet. He was like a second dad to me.A Grreat teacher and Coach! God Bless to the Walker Family.
Priscilla Wood
September 12, 2011
Phyllis & family,
My heart goes out to you Phyllis. You have been so strong thru all this. You gave Norm the spirit of fight to go on. I have always thought you two were joined at the hip. You were inseperable. I knew Norm more as Phyllis's husband because she & I were childhood friends. I always marveled at the times I would be there in their house. The noise & laughter of all those kids and Norm was always so calm. He always welcomed me on my visits that go back a long time. I have been reading all the messages from loved ones and it is plain to see how his life touched so many. He was a positive influence in many lives. The whole family can always be proud of all his accomplishments.
I sent many cards, prayers and good wishes during this difficult time and I will continue to hold the entire family up in my prayers. I love you all.
Phyllis, I am so proud of you. You are a real gem. No wonder so many love you and your family reflects it.
Love
Jean Hennelly Keith
September 12, 2011
Mr. Walker was my homeroom teacher for 3 years at Newton High. I transferred to NHS from a parochial school for my sophomore year and, exercising my new-found freedom, I was a little chatty in his classroom. Mr. Walker soon took me aside to discuss that! Throughout my years at NHS, he applauded my academic accomplishments and challenged my views on a wide range of topics. Over those years, in his dealings with students, he called us on our missteps and went to bat for us when he thought we had earned it. Like so many members of the Class of 1965 and all the other students he taught, coached, and mentored, I admired Mr. Walker's strongly held principles and sense of fair play, his affinity for the written word, and his vigor and passion for life. My deepest sympathy to the Walker family!
Brian Bernard
September 9, 2011
Dear Walker Family I'm sadden to hear the passing of Coach Walker, he was a good man and had a postive influence on myself and many young men, Coach Walker rest in peace and God Bless.
Bill Flynn
August 30, 2011
It is only fitting that a hurricane and tornadoes threatened the East Coast after Norm Walker's passing. I felt it was his way of telling us that he was marching on and that we were well coached for whatever life presents us. I can think of no better way to honor Coach Walker than to pass on what he taught us to future generations. I will try my best. My deepest condolences to all the Walkers and all who were touched by him.
Irene DeSimone-Renaud
August 27, 2011
Dear Jimmy and family,
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Your Father made a major impact not only on my life but on so many. He was funny, a great leader, humble, tough, kind, compassionate, and I looked up to him. I can still see him smiling and joking with me in the halls at NNHS, telling me to GET TO CLASS! He was a wonderful teacher and a great man. My deepest sympathies to you all.
Bill O'Donnell
August 26, 2011
Dear Phyllis and Family, I am so sorry to hear of Norm's passing. I was fortunate to have Norm as a coach his first year at NHS(fall of 1959). He, along with his mentor Jim Ronayne, taught all of us to grow into men in their immage. Their passion for the game inspired me to follow in their footsteps into coaching, and for every young man I helped it was a small way of saying thank you to them. So Norm's influence was felt far and wide, a life he could be most proud of. All I enjoy today, I owe to the start Norm & Jim provided, as they did for go many others. Norm may no longer be with us but his legacy will be with us for generations. We will all miss him.
Donald Bongarzone
August 26, 2011
Our deepest condolences
Donnie and Margo Bongarzone
Peter & Marcy Rosenberg
August 26, 2011
1972.
The discussion in class was about "anti-heroes", presumably. Mr. Walker was barrel-chested and wore gray plaid jackets in the warmer days of spring or fall and gave way to tweed of similar muted shades when the weather chilled. He had boundless energy and combined with the grace of an athlete he bounced practically around his classroom, exuberant, excited, engaging.
Mr. Walker: "Class, can anyone tell me what it means to be cynical"?
We were 15. Some of us pre-pubescent, others developed enough to buy beer at Blanchard's, or have babies out of state. None of us were old enough to put a definition to such a loaded word.
Silence fell.
Mr. Walker: "A cynical person is an idealist turned inside out."
Food for thought, now 39 years later.
A great man who touched so many lives unaware, selflessly.
Rest in peace, Mr. Walker.
Peter Mooradian
August 26, 2011
I am sorry for your loss. Thoughts and prayers from my family to yours. We will keep you in our prayers. Coach Walker was truly a great person and will be sorely missed.
Richard Ready
August 26, 2011
Norm Walker...a man who inspired boys to become men through a game called football. It wasn't as easy as it sounds and the job is never complete but Coach Walker's booming voice can still be heard. I haven't seen Coach Walker for 30 years or more, but for me, he and his friend Cappy are still coaching. My sincerest condolences to The Walker Family and for all those who loved him.
Richard Ready #83
Class of 1973
T.J. Dargan
August 25, 2011
To the Walker Family - my sincere condolences. Coach was a singularly important influence and role model in my life, and many other lives as well. Thank you for sharing him with so many young men and women. He had a positive impact on every one of us.
Frederic Shaw
August 25, 2011
Although I never played for Coach Walker I knew him as a friend he will surely be missed by the class of 1961, Newton South High School.
Betsy Brennan
August 25, 2011
Mrs. Walker and family,
Many thoughts and prayers to you all. I didn't know 'coach' or 'teacher' Walker; just 'Mr. Walker' a really nice neighbor and one time political campaigner. Peace.
Joel Dennis
August 25, 2011
Coach Walker was a fine gentleman and mentor. Few influenced as many young men and woman. His was a life well lived and he has left his mark on generations of people. Condolances to the entire Walker Family.
Ed McCarthy
August 25, 2011
If you grew up on the North side of Newton in the 70’s and 80’s, there was a group of incredible men who served as teachers, counselors and coaches. And if you listened, ran hard, competed, and got up time and time again after getting knocked down, by kids from West Newton, Auburndale, the Lake, Newton Corner, and Newtonville – great kids made great by great coaches – you had completed a rite of passage that would carry you into manhood with confidence, compassion, and with what Coach Walker called “Pride” – a word whose meaning was ambiguous then, a word whose meaning resonates now in manhood.
John Eldert, Jim Marini, Joe Siciliano, Tom Rezutti, Rick Clark, Bussy Adam, and John Bamberry were, in my life, far more than teachers. They were fathers to me. Yet, at the end of that middle school and high school road awaited the legend, Coach Walker. From the first time I met him during double sessions to our last conversation, I always knew that I was in the presence of a man who would tell me the truth, be critical, and push me to improve myself. We wanted that, needed that, thrived under that.
A few weeks back, Coach told me that my sons, Eamon and Liam, were going to be, in his simple football words, in the Coach Walker “poetry” that we Newton kids knew, “Tough and good kids, Mac.” As I look back and ahead, it’s clear that if they do become what Coach wanted us all to be, tough and good, it will be because of all of Newton’s great teacher/coaches, and especially, because of Coach Walker.
Ed McCarthy
NNHS ‘82
Michael Abbruzzese
August 24, 2011
My condolences to the Walker family. I am grateful and honored to have played for Coach Walker at NHS. He taught me many life lessons. He was a mentor to many and respected by all who knew him.
bob worden
August 24, 2011
how lucky was to grow up in the newton high athletic dept as a student and eventually a colleague. George Jessup my second father,Jim Ronanyne,Smitty and of course Norm. incredibly brilliant with deep conviction and unmatchable passion a mans man. my greatest thrill was to play a few years of newton fast pitch with Norm. Coach could win at any sport on any given day. Norm give jess a hug for me as today is the day you meet again thank you for your gifts.you will always be in my spirit.
Walter Schlech
August 24, 2011
Thanks Coach for being a great mentor to three of my boys, AJ, Pete, and Mike Schlech at Holderness. I'm eternally grateful. We'll miss you but know you're in the Lord's safe hands now.
Allan Weiner
August 24, 2011
Norman Walker was my tennis coach at Newton North High and a tremendous inspiration to all the boys on the team. A fantastic motivator and charismatic personality. I was also very friendly with his daughter Janet. Rest In Peace Coach Walker. Allan Weiner NNHS varsity tennis and class of 83, London and Stockholm
August 24, 2011
I only knew Norm slightly as he campaigned for the MA Congressional seat in 1978. He was at our house a couple of times since my husband, Bill, was involved in his campaign. We knew him as a man full of love for mankind and very humble. I loved his deep spirituality and his willingness to go wherever the Lord sent him. Now he can rest in peace with a job well done. Jo Cosby
Richard Peinert
August 24, 2011
To the Walker family,
In 1965 I was a 16 year old kid attending a Williams football recruiting night at Brae Burn Country Club. The coaches were all nice but the guy who really impressed me was this big, burly passionate coach from Newton High School who spoke to us that night. Well, I attended Williams and played guard with a scrappy little guy from NHS named Pete Capodilupo, one of Norm's favorites. I told many people about this great man, but never saw him again until I retold the story to an old high school buddy at the bar at Abenaqui Golf Club in 2000. After a phone call, twenty minutes later there was Norm joining us and regaling us with stories about Newton, Williams, Cappy, Bill Connell ( an alumnus of our high school), Armamd Columbo---well, you get the picture! After that, I saw him many times at Williams and most memorably, at Holderness where by serendipity I saw him strolling across campus as I was showing the school to my son on a drive by unofficial visit. We left three hours later after meeting the admissions director, the math chair, an Olympic cyclist, and a junior national slalom champion!! Quite a day! Quite a man!
I last saw Norm at reunion shortly after his diagnosis in 2009. A little weakened but still indomitable.
A great man and a great inspiration. I will miss him dearly.
Dick Peinert
St Mary's, Lynn Class of 1965
Williams, Class of 1969
Lindsay Falvey
August 24, 2011
Norm was a surrogate father to my husband and is my youngest son, Wyatt Walker Falvey's namesake. I am eternally grateful for the impact he had on my husband's life and for the man he helped him become.
Jake Falvey
August 24, 2011
Dear Phyllis and Family- I am in awe of the tremendous impact that Coach had on my entire family.Beyond the players and students that he mentored,Norm Walker's personality influenced entire fanilies. I have so many favorite Norm moments and each of them by themselves would be a story worth publishing.Thank you Coach for making this world a better place. The Falvey Family extends their thoughts and prayers to all of you.Norm Walker made a difference! God Bless.
charlie wilson
August 23, 2011
I never had Norm, but some of my 6 siblings did at Newton High and Newton North - both for class and for sports. He knew who i was as a result and sorta kept an eye out for me. Norm, you know how loved you were by so many in Newton alone. (surely many more in other places) Rest well! -(nnhs 1983)
Paul Wessel
August 23, 2011
To the Walker family –
I am very saddened to hear of the passing of Coach Walker. I always had a tremendous amount of respect for Mr. Walker in the classroom and on the field. He was a great motivator with unrivaled passion who truly cared about everyone he worked with. I’ll never forget the written scouting reports he delivered on every player on the next day’s opposing sideline – they were a thing of beauty. And when he went off to coach at the Holderness school I always found myself looking for his score in the Sunday Globe. Many know him much more than I but I am grateful for the chance to have learned from him those few years.
I will continue to remember you with great fondness, Coach.
Paul Wessel NNHS '83
John MacDonnell
August 23, 2011
To the Walker family my condolences and prayers. I am saddened to hear of his passing. Coach Walker had a great passion for coaching and his students. I am proud to have had him as a teacher and coach. I am a better person for it . He will be missed. God bless
Pam Gartland Seibert
August 23, 2011
My thoughts & prayers are with Norm's bride, Phyllis, & with all the Walker family, and my gratitude forever to Norm for being my mentor & my friend. He was truly the salt of the earth & I will always be grateful to have had him in my life. Thanks to the Lord that his passing was peaceful & thanks to Phyllis for sharing the love of her life with all of us.
Mary Hay
August 23, 2011
I had Mr. Walker as an English Teacher and he was a coach for my husband in 1965. We were so honored and happy to see him at our 45th reunion this past fall. He left me with so many lasting memories of Newton High. Thank you for being a great educater. My heart goes out to your family. Hope he knew he made a diffence in this world because he was here.
Fred Yaitanes
August 23, 2011
To Phyllis and the family, I was very saddened to hear about Norm. I had immense respect for Norm for all of our years teaching and coaching at NHS and NNHS. I loved his passion about teamwork, winning and life. He gave a tremendous amount to his students and athletes, who, like me, are all better as people for having known him. I will miss him.
Billy Harkins
August 23, 2011
"Little things are big things." I always remember everything you taught me about life, and it has guided me through mine. You have done so much for so many and your legacy will never die. My thoughts and prayers go out to your family. I love you Coach.
Stephen Drew
August 23, 2011
To all the family and friends of Norm Walker - he was above all else a real coach to a lot of young men in Newton, Mass and Plymouth NH. He has passion and will be missed.
Godspeed Coach.
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