John Jefferson Walker

1932 - 2019

John Jefferson Walker FORT WORTH--One of Arlington's founding physicians, John Jefferson Walker, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. He is finally free of his wheelchair and he is dancing in heaven with many of his friends who passed before him. Service: 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, at St. Alban's Church in Arlington. Reception will follow in the parish hall. John was born in Bryan, Texas, on April 29, 1932, to Reba and Knox Walker. Reba survived the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and went on to become the first Miss Galveston. Knox was a pilot in World War I. He graduated from Texas A&M in 1918 and then went to work for the college as a civil engineer. John and his older brother, Knox Jr., grew up on the campus of A&M, and his brother later became an entomology professor at the college. John was an Aggie to the core! John completed his undergraduate degree in three years and attended medical school at the University of Texas at Galveston. He was a captain in the U.S. Air Force, president of the Tarrant County American Heart Association, chief of staff at Arlington Memorial Hospital, Internist of the Year, American College of Physicians Fellow. John met his future wife, Mary Virginia Oltorf, in Marlin, Texas, during his medical residency. A high school student at the time, she had twisted her ankle and met him in the hospital. They were married June 29, 1957. John was in the Air Force so they were moved to Hawaii where he served as a military physician. He then worked at the Dallas V.A. before going into private practice in Arlington with his longtime partner, Rush Pierce. He was a wonderful doctor and truly loved his patients. He even made house calls, which is unheard of now days. It became difficult to maintain his private practice as his disease progressed, so he returned to the V.A. and worked at both the Dallas and Fort Worth branches before finally retiring. John was an avid reader and loved learning new things. His goal was to get his Ph.D. in philosophy when he retired. He was diagnosed with olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPA), a rare neurological disease, and was not able to complete that goal. He loved to watch Turner Classic movies, cheer on the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Aggies, listen to opera, and spend time with his family. His eyes would light up when the drug reps would bring little trinkets to the office. He'd carry pens for anti-diarrhea medicine or hemorrhoids with pride because they were free! I think he's the only physician in Arlington that drove a bright yellow AMC pacer because he got "a really good deal on it." It turned out that car that LOOKED like a lemon actually WAS a lemon, and he replaced it with the cheapest car he could find, complete with manual windows. To give some insight into his character: One his caregivers was preoccupied one day and forgot to put his food in his feeding tube. She felt horrible when she realized she had only given him his medicine and water. She brought his food in to the bedroom and told him what happened. He just smiled and nodded when she responded "You knew?!" He had realized she did not bring his food in but he didn't want to make her feel bad. Had she not noticed, he would have never mentioned it. That's the kind of person he was. This is a man who lived on three tiny juice boxes per day fed through his stomach and he was worried about making someone else feel bad. That is the kind of person we all should strive to be. Not only did he never complain in the 20-plus years he lived with this horrible disease, he taught all of us how to deal with adversity with grace and dignity. He was so happy to be alive. He had been robbed of his ability to communicate verbally, his ability to walk, and his ability to do all of the things he had planned to do once he retired, but never once did he say "Why me?", complain or question God. His smile never faded, and that smile on his face is how we will all remember him. Never one for accolades or drawing attention to himself, his final act on earth was to donate his body to science. His hope was that doctors could find a cure for his disease by having the opportunity to study him. John is survived by Gina, his wife of 62 years; brother, James Knox Jr.; son, Danny (Shelli); daughters, Shannon (Mark) and Suzanne (Chris); grandchildren, Jared Ross (Erin), Jordan Ross (Stacy), Cori Schlueter (Jeff), Zachary Walker, Shelby Walker and Madeline Moore; great-grandkids, Lila, Eliana and Evelyn Ross, Walker Schlueter...and one more on the way. We have done as John would have wanted regarding his funeral, donation of his body, etc. The only time we have gone against his wishes has been with the verbosity of his obituary. He is rolling his eyes right now thinking of the money being spent on each word written in the newspaper! In lieu of flowers, John would love for you to give a hug, share a smile or buy a meal for someone in his honor.