Jock Walker

Jock Walker of Orem, Utah passed away on Sunday, the 5th of October, 2014 one week short of his 88th birthday. Right up to the time of his illness, Grandpa worked every day in his yard, performed his calling as a Sacrament Meeting Greeter, and enjoyed the company and accomplishments of his grandchildren. On Sunday, the 28th of September, he attended church and visited his home teaching families. He was quietly reading when he suffered an aneurysm in his spinal column. The shock to his body and the subsequent surgery was more than he could overcome. Jock died peacefully in his home a week later. Jock is survived by his wife of 66 years, Leila Anne (Mithaug) Walker. Together, they had six children: Lee Anne Walker (Thomas Peters, deceased) of Salt Lake City, Utah; Grant Walker (Victoria Bailey) of Central, Arizona; David Walker (Mary Marvin) of Walnut Creek, California, Douglas Walker (Teresa Pace) of Springville, Utah; Andy Walker (Susan Vinton) of Fairfield, California; and Kerri Price (Scott Price) of Provo, Utah. They were also blessed with 29 grandchildren as well as 34 great-grandchildren. Jock was born in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Canada on October 12, 1926. He liked to say, "Columbus and I arrived in the new world on the same day." His father, William Walker of Kirriemuir, Scotland, was a respected blacksmith and welder that served the small farming community. His mother, Jemina Wilson Chisholm also of Kirriemuir, was a loving mother of six children. Jock was the youngest of those six children. His older sisters and brothers were Anne McCauley, Andy Walker, James Walker, Kay Larkin, and William Wallace (Red) Walker. Several brothers and brother-in-laws gave distinguished service in the Canadian military during World War II. Unfortunately, tragedy struck Jock's family when he was young. His mother developed a debilitating illness during her pregnancy, and Jock never had the chance to have his mom in his childhood home. His father was determined to keep the family together and strong during those trying years. Jock spent a lot of his time in the welding shop where his Dad could keep an eye on him and teach him important life lessons. He also taught him the welding skills that would provide his livelihood and support his family. He was always grateful to his father for the strength to care for six children by himself. He was also grateful for his oldest sister Anne who led the older siblings in the care of their baby brother. He loved her deeply and spoke of her with a reverence that is usually reserved for mothers. In spite of these trials, Jock did have many wonderful memories of growing up in Assiniboia. He spoke often of playing hockey (lots of hockey), tobogganing, his dog Sandy, and his buddy Charlie Maxwell. He would tell us of one particular baseball game in which he hit a grand slam and was the hero for a day. He idolized his brother Jim who taught him to swim and would lead all of the neighborhood boys to the local swimming hole. It was a favorite summer activity that he passed on to his own children. He also believed that his brother Jim was the best natural hockey player that he ever saw and loved that Jim always picked his kid brother when they divided up teams. In 1946, Jock started courting his life-long sweetheart, Leila. Leila grew up on a wheat farm just outside of Assiniboia. She was the daughter of Theodore Mithaug of Park River, North Dakota and Johanna Dahlman of Sweden. Jock was a frequent visitor for Sunday dinners. At Christmas 1947, he proposed and Leila accepted, but they had to wait for the summer because Leila was the only school teacher in a little one-room country school. In April 1948, Jock headed to Edmonton, Alberta where they were opening up the oil fields and they needed welders. Leila joined him in Edmonton and they were married on the 2nd of July, 1948. Conditions were difficult in the oil boom-town of Edmonton, but Jock and Leila were happy. They owned a little home and started a family. Lee Anne, Grant, and David were born in Alberta. Leila says that Jock worked hard to learn the business of the oil fields and perfect his skills as a welder. She says that he checked out books on the sciences of metallurgy, mechanics, and welding and practiced the new techniques that they described. William Walker was a good welder in his Assiniboia shop and gave Jock a solid start, but Jock worked on his craft and turned himself into one of the finest welders in the world. He was highly sought after for jobs all across Canada and the US - he worked jobs from Massachusetts to California. A highlight of his working days was the Alaska pipeline in the 70's. They sought him out as the first welder they hired. He was the seventh employee hired on the project and he loved to point out that he was the real "007." He considered the Alaska pipeline to be a great engineering achievement in the harshest of conditions and he was proud of his contribution. Jock and Leila were happy for the seven years that they lived in Edmonton, but they felt like something was missing. They struggled to understand some of the hard things that happen in this life. It was especially difficult for them to comprehend the severe physical challenges with which their daughter Lee Anne was born. They wanted to know if God had a plan for her and for their family. It just seemed right to them that God would provide a way for a family to be together in the next life. Over the years, they investigated many religions and made friends with several ministers, but they were always dissatisfied with the answers that they received. In 1955, Jock and Leila had a chance to move to the Spokane, Washington area. It was there that they met an LDS stake missionary and heard the Plan of Salvation. It answered all of their questions for the first time and gave them a sense of hope and happiness that helped them accept the challenges of life. They knew what they were hearing was true. They were baptized members of the Church on December the 5th, 1955. On October 12th, 1957, they traveled to the Cardston Alberta Temple to solemnize their marriage for time and all eternity and to seal their children to them forever. In the nearly 60 years since then, Jock and Leila have never waivered in their testimony and belief. They have attended church faithfully and accepted opportunities to serve whenever they could. The peace that they found in 1955 continues to give them assurance today. The Walker family was happy in Spokane for ten years. They lived in a wonderful home and made many good friends that lasted a lifetime. They also added Douglas, Andrew, and Kerri to their family. But, Jock was eventually forced to look elsewhere for work. The family moved back to Regina, Saskatchewan for a year and then to Longview, Washington for two years. Then, Jock and Leila made a difficult and wonderful decision. They decided to move to Utah Valley in 1968 to create the opportunity for Lee Anne to fulfill her heartfelt dream of attending Brigham Young University. It meant that Jock would have to work away from home more often, but he did that willingly. Eventually all of the children attended Brigham Young University and several of them earned multiple degrees. After several years of renting homes, Jock and Leila purchased their home in Orem in 1974. It has been enjoyed by several generations of the family ever since. In the mid-90's, Jock was finally able to retire from active employment at nearly the age of 70 and come home for good. Since then, Jock and Leila have enjoyed the good company of friends, neighbors, and their growing family. Leila wants to thank everyone for their love and support at this time. She is grateful for the wonderful blessings of home and family. Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the Orem 5th Ward (80 South 800 East in Orem). A visitation will be held on Friday, October 10, 2014 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary (495 South State Street in Orem) and on Saturday morning from 9:00-9:45 a.m. prior to the service at the church.

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