Obituary Richmond Times Dispatch Dec 2 1975: John Henley Walker Jr, a King and Queen County architect whose design of pulic and private schools over a 30 year career influenced the shape and the construction of such buildings, died Monday in Richmond Memorial Hospital after a ling illness. He was 62. Mr. Walker designed and built more than 100 schools and additions to schools and was considered the leading Virginia school architect. He was born in Baltimore and grew up in Richmond. He was graduated from Virginia Polytecthnic Instutute and from Harvard Universiy with degrees in architecture. His architectural career was interrupted by Workd War II in which he served in the Arymy Air Corps. He was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant colonel. After the war Mr. Walker returned to Richmond, where he opened his firm which remained in this city until 1971. In 1948 her moved his residence from Richmond to Walkerton, a town in King and Queen County named for his familily to take over his family estate of Locust Groe. Locust Grove dates from the 17th centruy and Mr. Walker was the 10th genreation of his family to own the estate which he operated as a farm wile workign as an architect. His work was principally with schools that he built in more than 25 counties in central and eastern Virginia. He was involved in controversy when the roof on J. R. Tucker High School in Henrico Conty collapsed in 1970 injuring 8 persons. A $1.1million damage suit brought against him by Henrico County, alleging that the collapse was caused by the faulty design of the roof, was later dismissed in King and Queen ciCounty circuit court. He was a member of the KIng and Queen Ruritan Club, the Rotary Club of Tappahannock and the Farm Bureau Federation. Mr. Walker was also a vestryman and junior warden of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Miller’s Tavern, a member of Arlington Lodge No 102 Af&Am, and the Scottish Rite and Acca Temple Shrine in Richmond. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Letitia Jones Walker; thress daughters, Miss Letitia Gregory Walker, Mrs. Virgina Walker Shelro and Mrs. Mary Walker ellwanger; a son, John Henley lWalker III; two sisters, Mrs, Virginia Walker Kepwer of Richmond and Mrs. Harriett Walker Reese of Wheling; and a brother William M. Walker of Washington, D. C. A funeral service will be held a 2pm Wednesday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Millers Tavern with buarial in the church cemetery. The family requested that in liew of flowers, donations be made to the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church building fund or a favorite charity.