Michael Andrew Harold Walker, just Mike to most of us, was born in Morton, Washington, in the shadow of Mt. St. Helens, on April 5, 1948. From there, with his parents and sister, he grew up in the beautiful Pacific coast towns of Port Angeles, Washington and Gold Beach, Oregon. He always had fond memories of playing sports, beach-combing, and sneaking ferry rides across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to British Columia.

Moving to Missouri as a teenager, he finished high school at Springfield Hillcrest, and then served in the US army in Vietnam, where he constructed power lines to the US bases there.

He married, and he and his wife raised their two sons in the Springfield area. He chauffeured the boys and their basketball and baseball gear across many miles as their biggest fan and critic. Mike continued his career in electrical construction and eventually worked for the US Department of Energy, keeping an eye on the power grid for Southwestern Power Administration.

Taking the wise advice of his father, he and his wife retired early and they found the greatest Table Rock Lake community in which they spent the next 20 years. He loved having the lake as his front yard and woke up to a project everyday – moving the dock, checking the well, or splitting wood. Without fail each morning, he would check Table Rock’s power generation and lake level to make sure they held back enough water for him to float his pontoon. It was a life he loved, especially when his 5 grandsons would come spend time at the lake with him. And now it is fitting that he will remain here on the bank of James River, just a little upstream from home. He was a leader of men, strong, funny, wise, loving, and dependable. He will be missed.

From “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver

“Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild precious life?”