Charlie Walker

1939-2000

Charlie Walker, a longtime employee of Fort Scott Community College and a lifetime worker in the water industry, died Tuesday, April 25, 2000, after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Charles A. Walker was born Dec. 13, 1939, at Boulder City, Mo., the son of Orville and Doris Capps Walker.

He married Marilyn Query Feb. 4, 1966, in Fort Scott.
Charlie was a graduate of Granby High School, Granby, Mo., and attended both Fort Scott Community College and Pittsburg State University. He began working as a swing-shift operator at the Pittsburg water plant in 1969, working his way up to chief operator. In 1984, he moved to Stillwater, Okla., as water superintendent.

In 1986, he began teaching long-term classes and workshops in the Environmental Water Technology Department at Fort Scott Community College. He developed a certification and specialist classes for cross-connection and backflow control after special training at the University of Southern California. He also developed a state-approved class on excavation safety.

Charlie was honored in 1992 and 1994 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for his work in helping small cities in Kansas bring their wastewater treatment plants into compliance with federal regulations. He took medical disability in 1998.

In an interview in December 1999, Charlie reflected on his long career in the industry. The biggest change, over those 30 years, he thought, was in the education of water and wastewater plant operators -- a development that he helped to bring about, although he didn't put it that way. "When I started the average was a 10th grade education," he said. "Now there are many with associate degrees, even some with baccalaureate degrees." The other big change he mentioned was in the adoption of technology for many plant functions. His 30-year career saw the transition from manual to computer control of many plant processes.

Charlie seemed proudest of the level of responsiblility borne by water and wastewater plant operators. "If you see someone treating your water, making a quality food product, you like to think that they know what they're doing," he said. "For example, the person working evenings at the Fort Scott city water plant, he's responsible for the health of every person who drinks that water, for all the equipment in the building, the distribution system, as well as the storage facilities."

He is survived by his wife, Marilyn, of the home; two sons, Lane Walker, of the home, and Shane Walker, Grain Valley, Mo.; his mother, Doris Walker of Fort Scott; a brother, Donalle Walker, Fruitland, Wash.; and three sisters, Patricia Cowan, Derby, Kan.; Shirley Burford, Pittsburg; and Linda Fisher, LaHarpe, Kan. He was preceded in death by his father in 1974.

Funeral services were held Saturday, April 29, at the First Southern Baptist Church, Fort Scott. Charlie was buried in the Garden of Memories Cemetery north of Pittsburg.

A Charlie Walker Memorial Scholarship Fund has been established by the Fort Scott Community College Endowment Association. This scholarship will be used to help students in the Environmental Technology Program at FSCC. Persons wishing more information may contact Daryl Roller, FSCC director of development/business and industry, at (620) 223-2700 (toll-free 1-800-874-3722), ext. 503
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