With his children, grandchildren and family in attendance, a portion of the entrance road to Edgewater Park was named in honor of the cooperative’s late manager.
The street where the Edgewater Park bus stop is located at the entrance to Edgewater Park off Meagher Avenue was named after John Walker Jr., the manager of the sprawling cooperative from 1996 until his untimely passing at 60 after an almost year-long fight against cancer on September 3.
His wife of more than 38 years, Christine, and his children John III, 38, Joseph, 35, and Lisa, 30 were all on hand as the street was renamed John J. Walker Way on Sunday, December 5, just prior to the Edgewater Park Christmas tree lighting.
Walker becomes only the second person in the history of the Edgewater Park Owners Cooperative to receive such an honor.The only other person is Edgewater Park’s founder Jimmy Shaw. Councilman Jimmy Vacca, who worked with Walker when he was a member of Community Board 10, and later when Walker was manager of Edgewater Park, said that the honor was telling about how people their felt about Walker.
“They say almost anyone can be replaced, but I think that Edgewater Park will be hard pressed to find someone to replace John Walker,” said Vacca.
His wife Christine remembered that he became cooperative manager two days after retiring from the Department of Corrections as a deputy warden.
“He was a real community-minded person, he loved Edgewater Park and enjoyed helping people out,” she said.
On the job, he joined with his neighbors to found the Edgewater Youth Foundation, and sometimes even helped friends out financially if the need arose.
She remembered that he pushed to make sure that whenever contractors were hired at the cooperative that they did their best and gave their best prices. He is also remembered for remaining calm and helping to resolve disputes between neighbors.
