JAMES MICHEAL “MIKE” WALKER
1943-2018
Funeral services for James Micheal “Mike” Walker, 75, of Houston, formerly of Huntington, will be held Monday, December 31, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. in the Carroway Funeral Home Chapel in Lufkin with Reverend Lee Maxcy and Dr. Paige Patterson officiating. Interment will follow in the Huntington Cemetery.
Mr. Walker was born May 22, 1943, in a two-room log home in the Ora Community of Angelina County, Texas to the late Lorene Love (Jordan) and Loyd Edward Walker. He died Wednesday, December 26, 2018, in a Houston hospital.
Mr. Walker graduated as valedictorian of the Huntington High School Class of 1961. While attending school in Huntington, he played on two state championship basketball teams. He attended Kilgore College on a basketball scholarship but eventually quit sports to focus on engineering. He moved to Stephen F. Austin State University and later Texas A&M University, where he graduated number one in his class with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Mr. Walker then attended the University of Texas in Austin on a National Science Foundation fellowship, graduating with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He returned to Texas A&M University and obtained a PhD in 1972. He took a leave of absence to work on his doctorate in mechanical engineering and taught math at Texas A&M for three years.
Mr. Walker worked at Exxon as a subsea engineer then went on to work for McEvoy and Vetco Offshore.
After some time, Mr. Walker would become the co-founder of Dril-Quip, a manufacturer of offshore drilling and production equipment. The company went public in 1997 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DRQ. He retired from his position of Chairman, President and CEO in 2011 after losing both of his partners and good friends to a heart attack and cancer. Mr. Walker left to spend more time with his wife Donna, as well as his children and grandchildren. Mr. Walker was a member of Second Baptist Church Houston.
Survivors include his wife, Donna (Triplett) Walker of Houston; son and daughterin-law, Lawrence and Alicia Tate of Houston; daughter, Amanda Tate of Kerrville; daughter and son-in-law, Melinda and Elod Papp of Kerrville; six grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and a number of other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Pallbearers will be Eric Tate, Chris Greenway, Coby Greenway, John Hill, and Jean Harris.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 Saint Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105.
The family will welcome friends and loved ones from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Sunday evening at the funeral home in Lufkin.
Memories and condolences may be added, and live webcasting of the services may be viewed at www.carrowayfuneralhome.com.
Carroway Funeral Home, Lufkin, directors.