April 19th, 1923 – October 16th, 2011
Laurence Walker, husband of Gwendolyn, father of Wendy and Iain, brother of Noel, Kathleen, Nancy and David, and grandfather of Jessica and Madeline, passed away peacefully in Victoria after a short illness.
Laurie was born in Long Eaton, England and moved to the U.S. at the age of 6. Early in World War II, at age 18, he joined the Royal Canadian Navy. Retiring after 25 years, he joined the Canadian Foreign Service, serving a further 20 years at diplomatic postings in Europe and Asia. He and Gwen loved travelling and thoroughly embraced the culture of the countries in which they lived, instilling their great enthusiasm for the world and its people in their children and grandchildren. He recorded many events and escapades from these years with deftly drawn and hilarious cartoons that are now part of the family archives. After 50 nomadic years in service to Canada, Laurie and Gwen chose Victoria as their retirement home, enjoying their friends, the natural beauty of the island, and the best weather in the nation. Laurie had an encyclopaedic knowledge of military and world history which, combined with a unique perspective on life, a wicked sense of humor, and a great sense of fairness, gave him great respect, admiration and love from his family, friends and colleagues. He was a truly decent and wonderful man. We will miss him so much.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Prostate Cancer Canada, the BCSPCA, or to a charity of your choice. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mccallbros.com.
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Adriana de Angelis Tattoni
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Lynne & Eric Carter Gwen & family:
So sorry to hear about the passing of Laurie. We have fond memories of our time together in Moscow and particularly of our dinner at the Greek restaurant in London. You may recall it was the night of the “big wind storm”! Also, we hope that his barometer, of which he was very proud, is still working. You may recall that we had it repaired for him in London when you were in Bonn. Our thoughts are with you and the family.
Lynne & Eric
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Pamela Chan (nee Hardy) Dear Mrs. Walker, Wendy, Iain and family,
When I moved to Vancouver in the 1990s, before moving back to Asia, I had the opportunity to visit Victoria more often and always enjoyed my visits with Mr. Walker. I am very sorry to hear about his passing. He met many people during his life and he will be greatly missed by people all over the world.
Wendy I have a number of photos of your dad that I took and when I get started with my new scanner I will set up a photo album so that I can share them with you and your family.
Sincerely,
Pamela
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Al & Shirley Hardy We have been friends of the Walkers since the mid 1980s during our tenure at Tokyo Canadian Embassy. Our sincere condolences to Gwen, Wendy and Iian and the family. Laurie’s dry British sense of humour, amazing wit, all round good nature and forthrightness are just a few of his many qualities. We always enjoyed our chats with him–a man with a keen awareness of the state of world chaos but one who looked at everything philosophically. A true gentleman and one of a kind.
Sincerely
Al & Shirley Hardy
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Maurizia and family Dear Mrs Walker, dear Wendy, Ian and all relatives,
we are deeply touched by being informed that Mr. Walker, husband, father, grandfather and brother passed away. I was honoured to meet him just at the beginning of our friendship, dearest Wendy. I was so impressed by his sense of humour and his sense of fairness. I learnt so much from him. A few years later also Jens, my husband, was honoured to meet him at his house and we celebrated the New Year together. I have a wonderful memory full of laugh and a wonderful time.
Rest in Peace Mr Walker and accept our sympathy.
He’ll be part of our lifes.Maurizia and Jens with Fabiana, Tiziano and Giuliano
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Carol and Ross Macdonald Dear Gwen and Wendy,
Ross and I were very sad to see that Laurie had passed away. Although we were not in touch recently, we have so many great memories of when we all gathered at our dear friend Kathleen’s many dinners and cocktail parties. We enjoyed Laurie’s great wit and admired his intellect.
We send our condolences to you and all your family.Carol and Ross
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Wallace Brown Two of the best years of my Foreign Service life were spent with LJCW. Rest in Peace Cappo…
Wally
I will never forget the four years spent in the office, in Rome, with Mr Walker.. I always thought I was very fortunate to work for him – a very, very special person. Thankyou for everything I learned from you and for your friendship. Adriana