Ronald LeRoy Walker loved to travel. He had visited countries including Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the Bahamas, and was “a die-hard motorcyclist,” riding with his brother Dennis to all but three or four states in this country. “On one occasion, he and several of his riding buddies even traveled to Newfoundland” in Canada, where both he and his brother “received a prize for the furthest traveled,” his family wrote.
He and his sister Joyce Walker were part of a scuba diving and snorkeling group that explored the waters of this area and as far away as Cozumel, Mexico.
Mr. Walker died of a heart attack at home on Sayre’s Path in Wainscott on Aug. 1. He was 78. A funeral service was held on Aug. 6 at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton, and he was buried in the family plot in the Wainscott Cemetery.
Born in Greenport to Henry C. Walker and the former Dorothy Davis on Oct. 5, 1946, he grew up in Wainscott, where he attended the one-room schoolhouse. After graduating from East Hampton High School, he earned an associate’s degree at Suffolk Community College.
After working for a few years as a Suffolk County park ranger, he moved to Cobleskill, N.Y. He eventually returned to Long Island and went to work as a buildings and facilities engineer at Suffolk Community College in Riverhead, where he remained until his retirement.
“He was a very active part of the community, assisting and helping many people,” his family said. “He touched so many people’s lives and will be sorely missed by many.”
Mr. Walker is survived by a son, Ronald L. Walker II of Pasadena, Calif., and his wife, Leah Walker, and by three daughters, Faye Walker of Los Angeles, Dana Walker of Springs, and Maureen Walker of East Hampton. He leaves two brothers, Henry C. Walker Jr. and his wife, Jackie, of Lake Ronkonkoma, and Dennis Walker and his partner, Terry Reichl, of East Hampton, and four sisters, Joyce Walker of Riverhead, Geraldine Walker of Tucson, Brenda Walker and her husband, KC Bell, of El Centro, Calif., and Nancy Ruiz of Wainscott. Mr. Walker had two grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Bonnie Walker, the mother of Ronald L. Walker II and Faye Walker, died before him. Jodi Walker, the mother of Dana and Maureen Walker, survives.
