Walker Pannell Kuhl

SALT LAKE CITY - Walker Pannell Kuhl, 27, formerly of Kalispell, died in an avalanche in Grand Teton National Park. He and a climbing partner went missing Sunday, April 17; searchers recovered their bodies on Sunday, April 24.

A memorial service is 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Glacier Presbyterian Camp on Highway 93. Directions are available online at walkerkuhl.com. Valley Mortuary in Jackson, Wyo., is handling arrangements.

Walker was born Dec. 2, 1983, in Kalispell, to Marylane Pannell and Richard Kuhl. At the time of Walker's birth, his father worked summers as a wilderness ranger in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness. By the time he was 6 months old, he had made his first trip into the mountains and the wilderness. Once he could walk, he hiked with his family through the Swan Range and Glacier Park. To encourage him to hike, his parents left M&Ms along the trail. He sometimes said he wished he had been named "Driver" instead of Walker. He developed a deep love for the outdoors that led to many adventures.

He received his education in Kalispell, where he played on the Flathead Force Youth Soccer team, which won the state championship in 1997 and 1998. In high school, Walker gave up organized sports when he discovered climbing. He helped establish the Alpine Club at Flathead High School to expose other students to outdoor activities.

In 2002, when he graduated from high school, he joined the Army as a combat engineer and, after his basic training, was stationed for a year at a base just south of the de-militarized zone in South Korea. There he was honored with the Soldier of the Quarter Certificate of Achievement for the 2nd Infantry Division. After retraining in the U.S., Walker was stationed in Baghdad, Iraq, with the 8th Engineering Battalion, 1st Calvary Division. Before returning to Kalispell in 2005, he was promoted to sergeant.

After his discharge from the Army, he attended Flathead Valley Community College for two years. Walker then went to the University of Montana, where he earned a B.S. degree in business administration in finance. His minor was Arabic, and in the summers of 2007 and 2008, he went to Egypt and Yemen to language schools. During this time, he continued climbing rock and ice, and ski-touring in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the Canadian Rockies and New England. Walker loved climbing "because you do it for yourself," he said.

In 2009, after graduating from U of M, he got a job with the U.S. Treasury Department Comptroller's Office as a bank examiner. After completing training in Los Angeles, he was assigned to Salt Lake City. For his work, he traveled throughout Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah, which gave him opportunities to see friends and continue his outdoor activities. He was an expert mountaineer who was respected by other climbers for his skill and good judgment.

Walker is survived by his parents, Maryland Pannell and Richard Kuhl of Kalispell, sister Kendra Pannell Kuhl of Palo Alto, Calif.; aunts and uncles Joan and Jeff Perrins of Gilbert, Ariz., John Pannell of Duxbury, Mass., and Jim and Nancy Pannell of Great Falls; eight cousins; relatives in New Jersey; and many friends.

Walker was preceded in death by grandparents Helena and Jim Pannell of Great Falls, and his grandparents in New Jersey.

Walker's family thanks Grand Teton National Park and the people involved in the weeklong search, as well as the many people who offered words of support.

Condolences may be posted online at www.gftribune.com/obituaries.