Aggie Ring repairs and resizing via The Association temporarily paused. See full details
Roll Call Tribute
John Walker III '53 March 11, 2011 1:09 PM
Obituary for John Henry Walker III sent by son
John Henry Walker III passed away Sunday evening, March 6th after a battle with Lung Cancer. He was 79 years old. He is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, 3 sons and 7 grand children. He will be sorely missed.
John lived a very full life. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s in Aeronautical Engineering and married his high-school sweetheart in August of 1953. He joined the US Air Force and trained as a fighter pilot, eventually being deployed to Germany as a flight instructor where he served from October, 1954 to May, 1956. After an honorable discharge, John joined General Dynamics as an engineer working on the B-28 program. In 1960, John was offered an exciting opportunity to contribute to the US Space Program at Space Technologies Laboratories which later become TRW and is today Northrop Grumman.
John was one of 39 individuals honored by Alan Shepard Jr., the nation’s first astronaut and commander of Apollo 14, with a special award called the “Snoopy the Astronaut” pin. John’s citation read: “For outstanding work on the longitudinal oscillation problem affecting the first state flight of the Apollo Saturn space vehicle.” John also received the Apollo 11 medallion from NASA for his work on the Apollo program, and contributed to satellite programs while at TRW such as the High Energy Astronomy Observatories (HEAO) program.
John was a devoted father and was active in the Boy Scouts of America and was Scout Master of Troop 276, “The Mountain Men” in 1975. He was an avid backpacker and climbed many of the mountains in the San Bernardino and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. He hiked many segments of the John Muir trail and the trails in the Grand Canyon with his sons. He was a British automobile enthusiast and restored several MG automobiles with his sons. He was active in the British Auto Club of Las Vegas from 1994 and greatly enjoyed the relationships he developed as part of this organization.
John Henry Walker III passed away Sunday evening, March 6th after a battle with Lung Cancer. He was 79 years old. He is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, 3 sons and 7 grand children. He will be sorely missed.
John lived a very full life. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s in Aeronautical Engineering and married his high-school sweetheart in August of 1953. He joined the US Air Force and trained as a fighter pilot, eventually being deployed to Germany as a flight instructor where he served from October, 1954 to May, 1956. After an honorable discharge, John joined General Dynamics as an engineer working on the B-28 program. In 1960, John was offered an exciting opportunity to contribute to the US Space Program at Space Technologies Laboratories which later become TRW and is today Northrop Grumman.
John was one of 39 individuals honored by Alan Shepard Jr., the nation’s first astronaut and commander of Apollo 14, with a special award called the “Snoopy the Astronaut” pin. John’s citation read: “For outstanding work on the longitudinal oscillation problem affecting the first state flight of the Apollo Saturn space vehicle.” John also received the Apollo 11 medallion from NASA for his work on the Apollo program, and contributed to satellite programs while at TRW such as the High Energy Astronomy Observatories (HEAO) program.
John was a devoted father and was active in the Boy Scouts of America and was Scout Master of Troop 276, “The Mountain Men” in 1975. He was an avid backpacker and climbed many of the mountains in the San Bernardino and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. He hiked many segments of the John Muir trail and the trails in the Grand Canyon with his sons. He was a British automobile enthusiast and restored several MG automobiles with his sons. He was active in the British Auto Club of Las Vegas from 1994 and greatly enjoyed the relationships he developed as part of this organization.
505 George Bush Drive
College Station, TX 77840
(979) 845-7514
When Aggies see a need, their energy and their selflessness draw others into the cause, and good things happen.
© 2026 The Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University, All Rights Reserved