Billy J Walker

Billy Joe Walker, 79, retired engineer with the U. S. Merchant Marines, died Friday, January 19, 2007 at his residence in Academy Heights. Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. at Oakes & Nichols with Matthew Yuhas and Eddie Rogers officiating. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery with military honors provided by Herbert Griffin American Legion Post #19. The family will visit with friends Monday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Highland Rim, 1214 Trotwood Avenue, Suite 5, Columbia 38401. Notes of sympathy may be sent to www.oakesandnichols.com. The Lawrence County native was the son of the late William Lark Walker and Winnie Dove Aaron Walker. He attended Andrews School and was a graduate of the School of Marine Engineering & Navigation. He was a member of Zion Presbyterian Church, Herbert Griffin American Legion Post #19, Travelers' Century Club, National Maritime Historical Society, and Mid-South Chapter of American Merchant Marine Veterans. With his parents consent, at the age of 16 and a half in 1944, he eagerly enlisted in the U. S. Merchant Marines. By March 1945, he was serving on a Liberty Ship in the North Atlantic, bound for the Azores. At the end of World War II, he continued sailing for several years, at a time when the United States had the largest merchant fleet in the world.While on leave in Columbia, he received a draft notice from the U. S. Army and entered a new period of his life, serving in the military and not as a civilian. He attended Signal School and did a tour of duty overseas during the Korean War. After two years of duty as a platoon sergeant, he was discharged from the U. S. Army and returned to his career as a merchant seaman, becoming a marine engineer. For the next 30 years, he continued to sail all over the world, many times in trouble spots. His exciting and rewarding career ended in August, 1992 with his Honorable Discharge from the U. S. Coast Guard from active duty in the Merchant Marines during World War II. The War Shipping Administration awarded him the World War II Victory Medal, Mediterranean Middle East War Service Medal, Korean Service Medal for service between June 30, 1950 and September 30, 1953, and the Vietnam Service Medal for service between July 4, 1965 and August, 1973. Upon discharge, he returned to Columbia to make his home during his retirement years during which he was an avid carpenter, renovator, craftsman and landscaper.He was married March 2, 1959 to the former Dorris Sharpe of Columbia. Mrs. Walker died February 16, 2000. Survivors include a son, David (Jaelynn) Walker of Columbia; two sisters, Mildred Negendank of Knoxville and Margaret Rennolds of Columbia; a step-son, Terry (Ramona) McFarland of Kissimmee, Florida; two step-grandchildren, Cedric Sissom and Brandon Sissom of Columbia; sisters-in-law, Harriet Bolton and Mary Ann (Travis) Blalock of Columbia; devoted friends, Sandra and Bill Perley of Columbia; several nieces and nephews.Active pallbearers are Ricky Blalock, Freddy Blalock, Jimmy Blalock, Jeremy Blalock, Bill Perley, and Bill Smith. Honorary pallbearers are Wally Beasley, Mark DePriest, Ned Rich, and Joe Davis.