Trinity Remembers William Walker

William Oliver Walker Jr., Ph.D., Trinity University’s Jennie Farris Railey King Professor Emeritus of Religion, died February 23. He was 95.

Walker graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) from Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He received the Master of Divinity degree (summa cum laude) in 1957 from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a Master of Arts degree in Classics (summa cum laude) from the University of Texas in 1958, and a Doctor of Philosophy (magna cum laude) from Duke University in 1962.  

At the age of nineteen, Walker became a candidate for the ministry in the Presbyterian Church. During his college and seminary days, he served as a student assistant pastor, student pastor, or supply preacher in various churches in Oklahoma and Texas. Following his seminary graduation, he was licensed and then ordained as a Presbyterian minister. While a graduate student, he preached in various churches in Texas and North Carolina. In 1968, he left the ministry for a career in academia. 

Walker joined the faculty of Trinity University in 1962, where he taught until his retirement in 2002. He was named the first Jennie Farris Railey King Professor of Religion in 2000. During his time at Trinity, he served as chair of the Department of Religion, dean of the Division of Humanities and Arts, and interim chair of the Department of Psychology. 

Walker was also actively involved in Trinity’s faculty governance. In 2002, he received the University’s first annual Award for Distinguished University and Community Service, and he received Trinity’s Outstanding Educator Award in 1982-1983. Walker was named a Distinguished Alumnus by Austin College in 2009 and recognized for distinguished service by Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2016.

In the Winter 1986 Trinity magazine, Walker shared: “The most important thing we can do for our students is help them in understanding the world of which they are a part, with all of its diversity and conflict, and in knowing themselves as people who are rooted in a tradition but are also able to transcend this tradition through critical reflection and informed judgment.”

Walker was the author of four books, the co-author, editor, associate editor, or consulting editor of nine books, and the author of seventy scholarly articles and more than thirty published book reviews—all in the field of early Christian literature and history. In addition, he presented scholarly papers at numerous regional, national, and international professional meetings. 

As a member of First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, Walker served as a deacon, elder, and member of the Session. Later, as a member of Madison Square Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, he served as an elder and member of the session (clerk in 2011-16).

Walker was a founder and the first chair of the San Antonio Chapter of the United Nations Association, a longtime member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), co-founder of the ACLU San Antonio Chapter, and organizer of the San Antonio Committee to Stop the War in Vietnam. 

He is survived by his three children and their spouses; his four grandchildren; his sister; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. 

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to either: 

• The Scholarship Fund at Trinity University, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX 78212 
• The William O. and Frances B. Walker Endowment for Ministry to Children and Teenagers at Madison Square Presbyterian Church, 319 Camden Street, San Antonio, TX 78215
• The William O. and Frances B. Walker Sponsored Academic Honors Scholarship at Austin College, 900 North Grand Avenue, Sherman, TX 75090
  The Fund for Maintenance of Physical Facilities, Grandfalls Union Church, 103 Avenue D, Grandfalls, TX 79742