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Thank you all for sharing your memories of Bill Walker.  As a founding member of ARLIS/NA, Past President of ARLIS/NA, Recipient of the DSA, and long career in Washington, DC and New York City, Bill has left us with a distinguished professional legacy.

 

In the stories that you have been sharing on ARLIS-L, the memories of his warmth, graciousness, patience, and guidance are testimonies of his wonderful humanity and his legacy as a beautiful human being.  I am grateful to have met and known Bill through functions held by ARLIS/NA – New York during my professional career in New York City.   

 

With fond memories, RIP Bill.

 

Eumie Imm Stroukoff

Emily Fisher Landau Director of the Research Center

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

217 Johnson St., Santa Fe, NM  87501

 

[log in to unmask]

tel:  505.946.1011, fax:  505.946.1093

www.okeeffemuseum.org

 

A Great American Artist, a Great American Story. Explore the remarkable career of Georgia O’Keeffe through her artwork, the objects and places that were meaningful to her, and the experiences that defined her life.

 

President, ARLIS/NA

https://www.arlisna.org

 

 

 

From: ARLIS/NA List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2017 7:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARLIS-L] Bill Walker

 

My first memory of Bill was in 1966, when as the 22-year-old brand new head librarian at the Toledo Museum of Art, I was in Minneapolis for my first Special Libraries Association conference.  The only other person that I knew was my mother, a bank librarian.

 

The afternoon before the opening session, I went alone to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  I must have had my badge on and Bill approached me and introduced himself and two other librarians. We continued through the galleries together for a while, which was delightful.  For the rest of the conference, Bill kept his eye out for me and introduced me to many people.  I wish I could remember all their names now, but...   What a sense of belonging he gave to me that day.  And I'm sure he repeated this with successive young librarians.  

 

What an amazing human being.

 

Anne Morris

Toledo Museum of Art, retired

Sent from my iPad


On Feb 26, 2017, at 8:33 AM, Daniel Starr <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

I’m sad to report that William Bond Walker died on February 22 at the age of 86 after a long illness. He was a founding member of ARLIS/NA and our third President. He was also the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award for 1991.

 

Bill began his career as Librarian-Trainee at the  Donnell Branch of the New York Public Library in 1955. He was Reference Librarian/Cataloger at the Metropolitan Museum Art from 1957-1959, Chief Librarian of the Brooklyn Museum’s Art Reference Library, 1959-1964, Supervisory Librarian at the National Collection of Fine Arts and National Portrait Gallery Library, Smithsonian Institution,1964-1980, and the  Arthur K. Watson Chief Librarian of Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum Art, 1980-1994. He retired in 1994.

 

He received his B.A. at the State University of Iowa in Iowa City in 1953 and his  M.L.S from Rutgers University in 1958. He was an avid painter and exhibited widely, including at the Art and Music Library of the University of Rochester and the Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, New York.

 

Bill is survived by his long-time partner John Balkema, Kimball Farms Lifecare Community, 235 Walker St, Lenox, MA 01240.

 

He will be remembered fondly by many whose life he touched, not only for his professional activities and sound advice, but also for his unfailing graciousness. The first words many of us heard from him early in our careers were, “Hello, my name is Bill Walker,” along with a big smile and a firm handshake.



Daniel Starr





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Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] For information about joining ARLIS/NA see: http://www.arlisna.org/membership/join-arlisna Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to [log in to unmask] ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.arlisna.org Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: [log in to unmask]
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