Posted on 03/29/2019
Retired Captain Lewis W. Walker Jr., a decorated Navy veteran who fought in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, died March 19 in his home in Hudson, Ohio. He was 98. Lewis was born in Los Angeles in 1920, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1942 and served in the Navy with distinction for 30 years. He spent the Pacific War aboard the USS McCall, rising from assistant communications officer to become the destroyer's commanding officer at age 24. He fought in many World War II naval battles, including Guadalcanal, the Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf and Iwo Jima. While stationed in London in 1950, Lewis married a British actress, Angela Mary Holmes. The following year he became Executive Officer of the USS Nicholas, patrolling the western Pacific during the Korean War. Returning home for duty at the Naval War College in Newport, RI, he soon earned a master's degree in government with a specialty in foreign affairs from Boston University. In 1962, he assumed command of a destroyer squadron and sailed to Cuba to participate in the Naval Blockade of the Cuban Missile Crisis. He later took his destroyer squadron to patrol the Black Sea and stalk Russian submarines at the height of the Cold War. In 1967 he deployed to Saigon, joining the planning staff of Gen. William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces in the Vietnam War. For his distinguished service, Capt. Walker was awarded two Legions of Merit, the Navy Commendation Medal, a Joint Service Commendation Medal and numerous battle stars. After retiring from the Navy in 1972, Lewis earned a Bachelor's in Fine Arts from Old Dominion University, where he developed a passion for paintings, prints, maps and rare books. He studied clock repair and developed an antiques business with his wife, a porcelain dealer. After Angela died, he met and married Eleanor Randall Hoover, an antiques dealer in Hudson, Ohio, in 1989. Thereafter he made his home in Hudson for the next 30 years. They enjoyed cooking, gardening, spending time with family and traveling the world with friends. Lew, as he was known in Hudson, was an active member of the Hudson Clocktower Rotary Club and served on the Board of Trustees of the Hudson Library & Historical Society. He also actively volunteered at the library and belonged to an American Legion Post and Hudson Masonic Lodge 510. He was renowned around Hudson for his infectious smile, upbeat personality and trademark British walking hat. "He was intensely curious about people and things," said his son, Lewis W. Walker III. "He was adept at getting them to talk about themselves and tell their life stories." "My Pop Pop was a true example of living life to the fullest," said his granddaughter, Angela Sparhawk. "Well into his 80s and 90s, he took art classes and made beautiful paintings, took culinary classes and made meals fit for a king, and repaired and preserved antique books and maps so generations to come could enjoy the history." In addition to his parents, Lewis and Virginia Walker; Lewis was preceded in death by his wives, Angela and Eleanor; his brother, Dan Walker and Eleanor's daughter, Cynthia Stalcup. He is survived by his children, Lewis III of Tucson, Arizona, Leslie Walker (Beverly Fox) of Easton, Md., and Stacey Hinrichs (Lloyd) of Triangle, Va.; four grandchildren, Jeremiah Hinrichs of Sterling, Va., Joseph Hinrichs of Owatonna, Minn.; Angela Sparhawk of Virginia Beach, Va., Stephanie Walker, of Chicago, Ill. and three great-grandchildren. He is also survived by Eleanor's children, Thomas H. Hoover, Jr. of Columbus, Ohio, Susan Verna of White Plains, N.Y., Peter R. Hoover (Ronni) of Middleton, Mass., and John E. Hoover (Deborah) of Hudson, Ohio; along with their seven children and seven grandchildren. A memorial celebration will be held in the community room of the Hudson Library at 1 p.m. on May 11, 2019. A service and inurnment ceremony will take place later at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. on a date to be announced. Donations in his memory may be made to the Hudson Library & Historical Society, 96 Library Street, Hudson, OH, 44236.
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