Thomas Keith Walker

Thomas Keith Walker was born on the family farm in Fletchall Township, Worth County, Missouri on January 11, 1928 to Blaine and Ruby Walker. Tom was the third child of the couple. At the age of five, Tom began school at the Victory School house where he attended until seventh grade and was the only remaining pupil in his class as many families moved frequently during the Great Depression and most children didnt go to school after the seventh grade. Life on the farm in the early 1930s was financially difficult with limited funds to work with but his mother always made sure her family was never hungry and even had one new pair of overalls, shirt, socks and shoes to start school with. His father also trapped and hunted, a skill he shared with Tom who continued to do in his early life to help his family financially by selling pelts. In 1939, after a fire on their farm and a significant drought, his father purchased some additional land north of the Missouri-Iowa line on the Iowa side. Toms father didnt want to move, so Toms older brother Denzil and a neighbor hooked up a horse drawn wagon and the children and Ruby moved the family and their belongings to the new home themselves. Their father eventually joined the family several months later. While in Iowa, Tom attended the Redding School. During his high school years, Tom played basketball. Although he was the tallest boy in the school as a freshman, he had never had much experience at the game. True to form, Tom was willing to try and made the starting the lineup that year. During High School summers Tom helped collect scrap for the World War II effort and did other odd jobs. While in his junior year of high school Tom raised three pigs and sold them for $75 to purchase his first car a 1934 knee action coupe with a rumble seat in robin egg blue. In 1945, as a senior his basketball team went to the Sub-state tournament and although they lost their final game it was a great experience for him. The summer following high school Tom worked for the railroad removing tracks to pay for his college tuition. He was recruited by University of Iowa to play basketball and played for one year. During the summer of 1946 he worked on the family farm and in the fall located work in St Joseph MO at Swifts packing plant. He worked for Swift and lived with his sister and her husband until he was laid off. He then returned to the farm and lived with his father during the spring and summer while working for Bell Telephone removing trees and brush from under the lines. Both Toms parents supported his desire to further his education, as did the Redding community who also encouraged him to seek more education. In the fall of 1947 Tom began college at Northwest Missouri State. He worked in the cafeteria as payment for room and board, and over the summers worked in various jobs. In 1951 he graduated from Northwest Missouri State with a degree in Accounting and Physical Education. Following college Tom went to Omaha to work at Offutt Air Force base where housing units for military personnel were being constructed. It was at this time, he was drafted for the Korean War. Tom entered the service on September 20, 1951 and was stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood MO. Following leadership school, he was assigned to Ft. Sill, OK where his was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on November 11, 1952. After a thirty day leave, Tom was sent to Tokyo Japan for a few weeks and then onto Camp Youngans . From there he was shipped to Korea where he proudly served the United States as forward observer until the truce was signed in 1953. At this time Tom was offered a Regular Officer Commission, but he declined and received early release in October and returned to the States. Upon his release Tom attended summer school at Colorado University towards his Masters degree. He then began teaching Physical Education and business courses in Missouri. In 1955, he met his beloved wife Donna Ehlers and the two were married on May 19, 1956 in St. Joseph, MO. Following their marriage the couple relocated to Colorado and Tom resumed his studies. He obtained a job for US Rubber, and was eventually transferred to San Francisco. In 1959, Tom interviewed with Inland Manufacturing of Omaha, NE. Tom was offered the position and the couple moved to Council Bluffs, IA. Tom worked for Inland Manufacturing for several years. He eventually left Inland Manufacturing and found employment part time working for H&K Products and through hard work became a supervisor. When H&K closed its doors, Tom went to work for Omaha Box Company. After Donna retired the couple started Finishing Touches with their longtime friends, Pete & Doris Heinemann. He continued to work at Omaha Box as well, where he eventually retired. Although Toms career path took him in a different direction from education after moving to Council Bluffs, Tom never gave up teaching. He continued to mentor many young people through church and other groups. The couple also provided housing to many young people during their college years when dormitory housing wasnt available. Tom had an amazing love for knowledge and education in all forms was very important to him. During his retirement Tom found joy in spending time improving the family farm and working with his nephew Ron and brothers. He retained ownership of the original land from Blaine and had purchased some adjoining property. He spent many years on various projects including clearing additional land for the cattle, building a new barn, and even built a new pond stocked with fish. Tom also had an avid interest in family history and spent a great deal of his retirement working on genealogy. Tom made tremendous progress tracing back his lineage, and his research will be invaluable to our family. He also spent much of his retirement continuing to cultivate the many lifelong friendships he had made. In Toms later years, he and Donna were able to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, and most recently he celebrated his 86th birthday. Tom made a tremendous impact in this world and his legacy will live on in the lives of the family and friends he leaves behind.