H. E. “Eddie” Walker, age 75, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, surrounded by family at his home in Sapulpa following a yearlong battle with cancer.
A retired educator and welder, Eddie was born July 17, 1943, in Bristow, to Oscar and Hattie Walker. After graduating from Sapulpa High School in 1963, Eddie waited patiently for his sweetheart to graduate and finally on June 4th or 6th, 1966, he married the love of his life, Betty Raydene (Lewis) Walker. They would spend their entire marriage in Sapulpa where Eddie was a reserve on the Sapulpa Police Department for 16 years.
Together they lived life for more than 52 years. Sharing a passion for horses, they raised and trained Walkaloosas at Walking Bear Stables. One of their horses, Speck, who still roams the pastures, has been the favorite mount of Senator Jim Inhoffe for several years in local Christmas parades.
Eddie started his career in welding while still in high school. A master at his trade, he would go on to be an instructor at Tulsa Welding School and most notably the Central Oklahoma Area Vocational Technical School where he was named 1990-91 District Educator of the Year by the American Welding Society. At the time of his death, Eddie was a member of the Central Tech School Board of Education where he served for more than 20 years.
Eddie was a hunter and an accomplished archer. Eddie’s passion for hunting began as a child where he learned to hunt with his father, riding on his back with his feet tucked into the pockets of his daddy’s overalls. He amassed a lifetime of stories in the woods, none better than his last. In the fall of 2017, leaning against a fence post, he shot a buck from about 90yds at dusk that after being shot through the heart, ran across the field and fell right at Eddie’s feet.
He is survived by his wife, Raydene, daughter and son in law, Dawne and Robert Edelman, granddaughters, Sarah Walker Havenstrite and Shae Edelman, grandson in law, Van Havenstrite, and great grandchildren, Christopher, Joy, and Stella Havenstrite, and Kymber Raines, brother and sister in law, Randall and Phyllis Lewis, and countless friends and others whom he mentored.
Family, friends, and others whose lives Eddie has touched are invited to the Central Tech Sapulpa Campus, 1720 S Main St., Sapulpa, at 3:00pm, Monday, February 4, 2019, to celebrate his life. Prior to his passing, he requested a casual “blue jeans and boots” celebration. Burial Services will occur at a later date in Witt Springs, Arkansas where Eddie was a member of the Witt Springs Community Church.
The family would like to express our thanks for the wonderful help and care given by the Rose Rock Healthcare and Davis Funeral Home.
You may share your condolences with the Walker family at www.davisfh.net.
Services are under the direction of the Davis Funeral Home, Cushing.