J. Henry Walker III

J. Henry Walker III, age 93, died Friday, December 21, 2018, at his home in Griffin, Georgia where he was a lifelong resident. The son of James Henry Walker, Jr. and Ethel Stallings Walker, he was born on May 6, 1925. He graduated from Griffin High School in 1943. A remarkable athlete, he was Captain of the 1942 Griffin High State Championship Football Team and won State Championships in track and tennis as well as being all state in basketball. In 1943, he enlisted in the Navy and was sent to navy officer training school. He graduated from University of Virginia in 1945 with a BS degree in Naval Engineering. At Virginia, he was Captain of the Football team making All American twice as well as being the Battalion Commander of the NROTC and a member of the Raven Society, O.D.K. and the Honor Counsel. He served as a Naval officer on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Theater from 1945-1946. After active duty, he remained in the Naval Reserves, retiring with 20 years of service. After he returned from active duty, Mr. Walker graduated from Clemson University where he received a BS in Textile Engineering and Textile Management and was awarded the Norris Medal given annually to the most outstanding graduate. At Clemson, he continued as an outstanding student athlete, excelling in football, tennis and captain of the swim team. He remained a lifelong supporter of both Virginia and Clemson. After college, Mr. Walker returned to Griffin and began an over 45 year career in the textile industry with Dundee Mills. He worked in various capacities at Dundee Mills ultimately serving as the CEO and President which at the time was one of the largest private companies in Georgia and employed almost 4000 people. While representing the textile industry, he served as president of the Georgia Textile Manufacturers Association, president of the Georgia Textile Education Foundation, president of the Georgia Textile Operations Executives, chairman of the Southern Industrial Relations Conference and vice chairman of the American Textile Manufacturers Association. In December 1999, he was named one of the textile industry’s Top 50 Most Influential Leaders of the Century by Textile World. He was a lifelong resident and a true “Son Of Griffin.” Raised in the depression, a military veteran and an industry leader, he constantly worked to improve the Griffin - Spalding County community. In his various leadership roles, Walker was elected president or chairman of the Griffin-Spalding County Board of Education, the Griffin Spalding County Hospital Board, the Griffin Spalding County Recreation Board, Griffin Rotary Club, Jaycees, The Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Griffin-Spalding County Chamber of Commerce among others. He served as General Griffin and was chosen as both the City of Griffin Man of the Year (1968) and the Young Man of the Year (1958). Mr. Walker was elected to the Griffin-Spalding County Sports Hall of Fame. A lifelong supporter of scouting who lived the Scout Oath, he was an Eagle Scout and was awarded the NESA Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA) and the Golden Eagle Award by the Flint River Scouting Council. A leader and active member of the First Baptist Church of Griffin, he taught an adult men’s Sunday School class (the Brotherhood Class) for over 65 years and served as the deacon chair, a church trustee, and chairman of the finance committee. A loving and kind husband, father and friend, he took great joy from helping others succeed. He was preceded in death by his wife Rebecca Roddenbery Walker to whom he was married over 48 years and his sister Mary Eleanor Walker Ball. He is survived by his wife, Ann Slade Walker who he loved dearly. He is also survived by his daughters Mary Eleanor Mason (Dennis), Margaret Walker Brown (David), his son James Henry Walker IV (Laine), two grandsons, Walker Randall Jones and Mitchell Arthur Jones and two granddaughters, Elizabeth Rebecca Walker and Margaret Wentford Walker. He was much loved by his wife Ann Walker’s children, Jessica O’Connor (Michael), Stuart Whatley, Rebecca Conley (Blake), and Chandler Whatley, and grandchildren Jack and Mae O’Connor and Cooper and Eleanor Conley. A memorial celebration will be held at First Baptist Church of Griffin, Georgia, at 2 pm on Thursday December 27, 2018 with burial following in the new section of Oakhill Cemetery. Before the service, the family will receive guests starting at 12 noon at First Baptist Church in the Family Life Center. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Flint River Council for the Boy Scouts of America, 1361 Zebulon Rd., Griffin, GA 30224 or First Baptist Church of Griffin, 106 W. Taylor St., Griffin, GA 30223. To pay condolences online to the family you may do so at www.haistenmcculloughfuneralhome.com. Haisten McCullough Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Tributes

J. Henry Walker III

May 6, 1925 - December 21, 2018