Lemuel Harrall Walker

b. 10 June 1925, d. 25 July 2008
  • Lemuel Harrall Walker was known as Hacky.
  • Lemuel Harrall Walker was born on 10 June 1925 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
  • Lemuel Harrall Walker died on 25 July 2008 at age 83 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
  • He was interred at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens, Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
  • The following appeared on 27 July 2008 in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal: (Spartanburg, SC) Lemuel Harrall Walker, 83, husband of Betty Ruth Stephen Walker, passed away quietly at his home on Friday, July 25, 2008. Hacky was born in Spartanburg, SC, the youngest child of the late William Prentiss Walker and Charlotte Harrington Harrall.
         Hacky attended Spartanburg public schools from Pine Street until graduation from Spartanburg High School in 1941. He worked in his father's drugstore, Heintish-Walker, until that time. At Spartanburg High School, Hacky played tennis and baseball, and basketball for Coach Red Dobson. He attended Wofford his freshman year and played on the Terrier basketball team. Hacky left Wofford once he was of age to attend College Cadet training in Eau Claire, WI, learning to fly Piper Cubs, and after nine more months training in the Army Air Corps, was sent to Naples, Italy, and then Corsica, serving in the 12th Air Corps from 1943-1945 as a tail-gunner on a B-25.
         Hacky attended Georgia Tech after the war and graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1949, where he was the secretary-treasurer of the student body, a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity, and played for the USC Gamecock basketball team under Coach Frank Johnson. He married Betty Ruth Stephen on August 17, 1948, in Los Angeles, CA. After returning to Spartanburg, Hacky played softball and basketball for the Textile League.
         Hacky was the senior partner of Walker, Walker, Higgins, retiring at the age of 75 after 50 years in the insurance business. Hacky was appointed to the Hall of Fame with the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, a life member of MDRT, a charter member of Life Leaders of South Carolina, a past president of the Life Underwriters of Spartanburg, chosen their man of the year in 1963, past president of the Spartanburg Estate Planning Council, a part of the South Carolina Financial Group for 47 years, and the recipient of the National Quality Award for 47 years.
         Hacky was a charter member of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, serving as the first senior warden and as chalice bearer. He was very active for many years in the church. He was a Sertoman Life Member, President, Man of the Year, and recipient of three exemplary awards, active from 1983-2001.
         Hacky had a lifetime love for sports, and could be found most Friday afternoons of his adult life on the golf course. His life was centered around his love for his family and friends. During his extended illness, his caregivers became part of his family. Hacky was a beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, father-in-law, friend and husband, faithful, steadfast, generous and strong, a friend to many, and one who cared for the feelings of others.
         He leaves behind his wife of 59 years, Betty Ruth Stephen Walker; brother, William Prentiss Walker of Spartanburg; daughters, Charlotte Walker McKellar, and Elizabeth (Libba) Walker Hammond and her husband Robert Wesley Hammond; sons, Lemuel Harrall Walker, Jr. and his wife Joanne Blackmore Walker, and the Reverend Stephen Bruce Walker and his wife Susie Young Walker of Morganton, NC; eight grandchildren, Robert Laney Hammond and his wife Sara Jamieson Hammond, Elizabeth Ann (Becky) Hammond, Perrin Young Walker, Lemuel Harrall (Boo)Walker III, Benjamin Hamilton Walker, Elizabeth Harrall Walker, and Anne Margaret (Sunni) Walker; and two great-grandchildren, twins Marian Theron Hammond and Claire Barksdale Hammond. He was predeceased by his sister, Charlotte Walker Thomas; and brother, Nathaniel Gaillard Walker. Hacky also leaves behind his many caregivers that graced the home, especially Carolyn Thomas Carruth, Teresa Long, Tonya Murray, Nellie Smith, and Linda Taylor.
         Graveside services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens, followed by a memorial service at 11:00 a.m. at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church with The Rt. Reverend Rogers S. Harris and The Reverend Robert H. Long officiating. A reception will follow the service in the Parish Hall.
         Pallbearers will be Robert Laney Hammond, Lemuel Harrall Walker, III, Benjamin Hamilton Walker, Christopher G. Walker, Nathaniel Gaillard Walker, Jr., Rick M. Higgins, David H. Thompson, Sam E. Carruth, Jr., Rûdiger Hans Koch, and Allan P. Fulton.
         In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, 400 Dupre Drive, Spartanburg, SC 29307; or to York Home for Children, 234 Kings Mountain Street, York, SC 29745.
         The family is at the home, 715 Otis Boulevard, Spartanburg.
  • Last Edited: 11 Apr 2016