Boyd Walker Obituary (1925 – 2021) – Allentown, PA

Boyd Hawes Walker, Esquire died peacefully at the age of 97 on April 29, 2021, while residing with his daughter, Susan W. O’Donnell, in Newtown Square, PA. He was the devoted husband of the late Mary Elizabeth (Miller) Walker. Boyd was born on November 5, 1923 in Johnstown, PA but lived in Allentown most of his life. He was the son of the late Joseph B. Walker and Zelda Jane (Hawes) Walker. He graduated from Muhlenberg College in 1944 and received his law degree from Dickinson Law School in 1949.

At age 20, Boyd enlisted in the Navy during WWII, where he served as an officer (“LTJG”) from July 1943 to August 1946 on several Naval ships stationed in the Pacific. While stationed in the Pacific in 1944, he received his degree in absentia from Muhlenberg College. When he returned home from WWII in 1946, he entered Dickinson Law School and graduated second in his class in 1949. He was admitted into the Pennsylvania Bar the same year. In June 1951, he married Mary Elizabeth Miller, his loving wife until her death on April 3, 2000.

Boyd practiced law for over 50 years. Although his firm had several name changes over the years, for most of his career, the firm was Walker, Miller and Bernstein in Allentown where he practiced law with longtime partners, Todd S. Miller, Esquire and Joseph C. Bernstein, Esquire before retiring in 1994. Boyd was a litigation attorney, who tried and won his first case against a prominent New York attorney. Boyd focused most of his law practice on medical malpractice defense cases, in which he represented several insurance companies. Rather than settling his cases out of court, Boyd preferred to try the cases in court before a jury, where he won most cases. Boyd was known among the legal community for his courtroom flair, and on one instance when opposing counsel objected to one of Boyd’s statements, the judge responded that he could not ask Mr. Walker to “change his style”.

Boyd’s philosophy in life was to “work hard and play hard”. His home in Allentown which was known as “Walkerheim”, was a favorite place for his many friends to congregate.

He was an avid fly fisherman. His passion was fishing for tarpon on fly in Florida. Boyd was one of the 25 original nationally known fishermen who were invited to compete in the annual Gold Cup Tarpon Tournament “(Gold Cup”), an invitational fly fishing tournament held annually in Islamorada, Florida. The Gold Cup had been started with the help of baseball player, Ted Williams, in 1964 and continues today in its 57th year. This tournament has been referred to by many fishermen as the “Superbowl” of tarpon fishing, and for its 50th anniversary, Boyd and other anglers participated in a documentary about the Gold Cup. Boyd won the Gold Cup in 1979 after catching a 117.5 pound tarpon on a 15 pound test (tippet) along with several other tarpon that year. Although he only won the Gold Cup once, he won numerous prizes for catching tarpon during the prestigious Gold Cup. Boyd also fished for many years in the Don Hawley Invitational Tarpon Tournament and the Golden Fly Tournament, which he won several times.

Boyd was a member of the Upper Tunk Fishing Club in the Poconos for many years. He also is known for being the first fisherman to catch a musky on fly and received world records from the International Game Fish Association (“IGFA”) three (3) times using different weight classes. In his later years, he and his grandson, William G. O’Donnell (“Billy”), took annual trips to Cape Cod to fish for striped bass on fly. Boyd thoroughly enjoyed teaching his grandson to fly fish, and Billy has followed in his grandfather’s passion for fly fishing.

Boyd was a member of the Jordan Lutheran Church in Orefield, PA. After retiring, Boyd spent most winters in Florida with his wife, Mary, in Ft. Lauderdale until her death. After her death, he spent many winters on Singer Island with his family and friends.

Surviving him are two daughters, Susan W. O’Donnell, Esq. (Francis A. O’Donnell, Jr.) and Mary E. Walker-Ruch; three grandchildren, Kathleen O’Donnell Heinig (Ryan J. Heinig), William G. O’Donnell, and Susan E. Kozlowski (Michael D. Kozlowski); and five great-grandchildren, Miller J. Heinig, Walker J. Heinig, Tucker A. Heinig, Michelle E. Kozlowski and Christian M. Kozlowski. Boyd was predeceased by Mary E. Walker, his loving wife of 49 years, and his son, Boyd H. Walker, Jr., who died January 29, 2012. He is also survived by his dear friend, Sigrid Warke, with whom he spent about 17 years, and by Vicki L. Walker, his son’s widow.

A private memorial service will be held in June 2021 at Jordan Lutheran Church in Orefield, PA. Arrangements by Bachman, Kulik & Reinsmith Funeral Home, Allentown, www.BKRFH.com

Contributions: In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to International Game Fish Association (IGFA) at 300 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach, FL 33004.