Alan Walker
1924-Nov. 3, 2006
Hanover, New Hampshire

Alan Walker, 82, a Palo Alto native and graduate of Stanford University, died Nov. 3 in Hanover, N.H., where he and his wife, Marge, were living in retirement.

He spent many years as an educator and college professor, and was a worldwide leader in the field of community dynamics.

He graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1942 and served as an Army cryptographer in the South Pacific during World War II. Returning from the war, he graduated from Stanford with honors in psychology, then earned a master's degree at Stanford and a doctorate degree in social psychology at the University of Michigan.

He was assistant professor of community dynamics at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. Then, for 21 years, he was a faculty member at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vt. Later he was dean of the Northwood campus and then dean of the graduate program at Goddard.

He also directed summer work camps in Puerto Rico and rural Kentucky, established the Peru Community Development Program in Lima for the American Friends Service Committee, taught at the University of Alaska and was employed in Alaska by the Federal Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.

He married Margery Swett of River Forest, Ill., a fellow Stanford honors graduate, in 1948. Together they reared five children, founded the Plainfield Monthly Meeting of Friends, and were active in regional and national Friends activities. After five years working at Pendle Hill, a Quaker study center in Pennsylvania, they retired in 1991 to a lakeside home at Groton, Vt. In 2000 they entered Kendal-at-Hanover retirement community, dividing time between their two homes.

He loved music, especially singing, composing and playing piano. He sang for many years with various choruses including the Barre Choraleers, the Anchorage Civic Opera and the Kendal Chorale. He also enjoyed designing homes (including their Groton house and the Plainfield Friends meeting house), solving puzzles and hiking. He and his wife hiked the entire Long Trail in Vermont and 800 miles of the Appalachian Trail during retirement.

He is survived by his wife, Marge, of Hanover, N.H.; daughter, Rachel Walker Cogbill of Plainfield, Vt.; son, Lawrence (Lars) Walker of Boulder City, Nev.; daughter, Elizabeth (Liz) Walker of Ithaca, N.Y.; son, James Walker of Boulder, Colo.; son, Douglas Walker of Superior, Colo.; brother, Keith Walker of Santa Rosa, Calif.; brother, John Walker of Murrieta, Calif.; sister, Ramona Zulch of Palo Alto; sister, Emma McCrary of Swanton, Vt.; sister, Edith Ann Porter of Martinez; 11 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; two aunts; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Tags: veteran, teacher/educator