Patrick Charles Walker

Patrick Walker, 72, died June 11, 2024, after a long cancer illness. He is survived by his wife Julie Seavy and his three children: Christian Walker, Molly Seavy-Nesper, and Katie Seavy-Walker. He devoted his life to literacy, community and justice.

The son of William "Burly" Walker and Dorothy Brown, Pat was raised in upstate New York with brothers Kirk, Mike and Greg and sister Kelly. The nuns at his Catholic school didn't know what to do with him, as he was both precocious and a troublemaker. As a teen, he pivoted from pursuing football at Notre Dame to instead follow his interest in philosophy and Chinese at UMass Amherst. He married Carol Booth in 1970 and they had a son, Christian Walker. They divorced in 1978.

Pat's early professional life was rooted in activism and local Boston politics. While earning a doctorate in economics, he was a founder of the progressive publishing company South End Press, which published Noam Chomsky and bell hooks, among others.

In the '80s he was the Director for the Campaign for District Representation in Boston, Field Director for Mel King's Boston Mayoral campaign, and Field Director for Jesse Jackson's presidential bid. By the '90s he was a Campaign Director for Rosaria Salerno's mayoral run, and then served as a senior policy adviser to Mayor Thomas Menino for 7 years.

The professional work he considered to be his legacy was a literacy program he designed called Voices of Love and Freedom (later just "Voices"). Pat created a comprehensive, community-based violence prevention curriculum for the Boston Public Schools, in conjunction with faculty at the Harvard School of Education. Later, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the program was implemented across the country.

He worked with teachers and students in over 1000 schools, from the Navajo reservation to inner city Detroit to rural Tennessee. He believed in the power of books to change lives. The program was bought by the parent company of Highlights for Children, and if it wasn't for his illness, Voices would've likely only expanded.

He married Julie Seavy in 1997. The two had been friends in the '80s at Harvard Divinity School. He became a step-father to Julie's daughter, Molly. After Katie was born in 1999, the family relocated to the town of Harvard, where both girls attended school.

Pat's happiest years were spent gardening at their house in Still River. There he built the girls two treehouses on either side of the yard, connected by a zip line. And no woodworking project was too ambitious. In his shop, he made tables, a rocking chair, a bunk bed, and countless other treasures.

The family relocated in 2017 to Julie's native Colorado, where he lived until his passing.

He will be missed for his deep chuckle, his passion for politics, and his love for sharing a meal.

Friends are invited to Pat Walker's memorial at All Saints Parish in Brookline, 1773 Beacon Street, on Saturday August 10, at 11 am.