After Episcopal
A Leader Through the Wilderness Humphrey Tyler ’65 remembers former math teacher David Stewart Walker, Jr. ’43.
DAVID WALKER ’43 WAS NOT ONLY A GRADUATE OF EHS, BUT A LONGTIME FACULTY MEMBER WHO SERVED THE SCHOOL IN VARIOUS ROLES — INCLUDING ASSISTANT HEADMASTER, HEAD OF THE MATH DEPARTMENT, AND DIRECTOR OF STUDIES — FROM 1947 TO 1950, AND FROM 1953 TO 1970. BELOW, HUMPHREY TYLER ’65 SHARES HIS MEMORIES OF HIS FORMER TEACHER.
Above all, Mr. Walker was a master mathematician. He was unique in that he was genial and genuinely friendly, and yet he was a private man, who almost never indulged in sharing much of anything about himself with his students. I had him my “second senior year” for Intro to Differential and Integrated Calculus, also known as “Math 5.” It was a small class made up of students whose academic achievements were at both ends of the scholarship scale. On the one hand, there were the School’s math superstars. But there were also a handful of “fifthyear students,” which at the time was a euphemism for those of us whose less-than-stellar classroom performance dictated that we return for an additional year in order to earn a diploma. It must have been difficult to teach a class of students with such diverse abilities and enthusiasm for the relatively advanced, scientific mathematical concepts of calculus. And yet Mr. Walker never showed any frustration, and like the leader of a group of wilderness hikers, he guided us through the mysteries of differential and integrated functions only as fast as the slowest student could keep up. You could tell he truly loved the math and enjoyed having the opportunity in every class to introduce young minds to his world of calculations beyond multiplication tables and fractions.
As the man of math at EHS, he was also the School’s official sports statistician. One of the most enduring pictures in my mind is of him patrolling the sidelines of football games with a clipboard, carefully cataloguing the Maroon’s passing and rushing yardage, tackles, pass completions, and points. Many of Episcopal’s athletics statistics recorded in the latter half of the 20th century were compiled by Mr. Walker. The High School is grateful for Mr. Walker’s decades of service. He passed away on Aug. 29, 2016, in Charlottesville, Va. His obituary was included in the Fall 2016 edition of EHS magazine. A member of Episcopal’s Bell Society, David Walker left a generous bequest to EHS that will support the School’s annual fund year after year in perpetuity. Members of the Bell Society honor the traditions of Episcopal by naming EHS as a beneficiary in their estate planning. Their generosity and foresight will help to sustain Episcopal’s tradition of excellence for future generations. If you have questions about the Bell Society, please contact Rick Wilcox, Director of Alumni and Parent Programs, at 703-933-4024.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
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