ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702240075
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY STAFF WRITER
MANY KNEW HIM AS a doctor to several generations, but he was also known in some circles for his scholarly approach to botany.
In his 40 years as a Roanoke Valley pediatrician, Dr. John Walke's dedication benefited several generations of some families.
Not as well known was the dedication he brought to his work as a naturalist with extensive interest in Appalachia's native species.
Walke died Friday in his Southwest Roanoke home of complications from cancer. He was 80.
Before coming to the Roanoke Valley, Walke served in India during World War II as a lieutenant colonel and flight surgeon in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
Walke was seriously wounded in an attempt to rescue a crew whose plane had crashed. Exploding ammunition killed his commanding officer and left several men wounded, including Walke, who was burned and suffered shrapnel wounds. Some of the shrapnel remained embedded in his body for the rest of his life.
Walke received the Soldiers Medal in service for the rescue attempt.
After leaving the army in 1946 and completing his pediatric training, Walke came to Roanoke in 1948 and was a founding member of the Children's Clinic on Washington Avenue. The Children's Clinic later joined Lewis-Gale when the hospital built its clinic in Salem.
Lewis-Gale pediatrician Luthur Beazley met Walke in 1981. "He was one of the old school. Up to half of his day would be spent making house calls before and after his office hours. That was very unusual for this day and age," Beazley said.
"He was very well known to huge numbers of folks in town. He was an archetype of what a real pediatric doctor should be like," Beazley said. "John treated lots of patients that went on to have their own children who would become patients."
Walke was involved in many organizations and became an active wildflower aficionado after his retirement in 1983.
"He was always interested [in wildflowers] but never had time. He practiced medicine full time and he retired full time, as he used to say," said his wife, Evelyn.
John and Evelyn Walke became members of the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society when the group was organized in 1984. Members said Walke was a hard worker who didn't mind getting his hands dirty.
"John was a person who wasn't just joining things. He was a worker," said Dora Lee Ellington, a Wildflower Society member. "Anything you'd ask him to do, he'd find some way to do it."
Walke's interests in wildflowers were academic also. "He was a stickler for finding out all he could about a particular flower," said Sam Ellington, also a Wildflower Society member. "If he came across something he couldn't identify, he'd call us to help out."
His friends in both the medical and naturalist worlds said he shunned recognition of his contributions.
Sam Ellington spent many days searching for wildflowers with Walke but said they were always too busy talking about flowers to discuss much else. "I wish we had known more about him earlier in life, but we seldom talked about ourselves."
When Walke became sick with cancer, he donated his extensive collection of orchids to the Horticulture Department at Virginia Western Community College. The flowers are now on display in the college's arboretum.
Walke was honored for his work at the arboretum on Jan. 11, when it was announced that the Children's Garden Plant Zoo, currently under construction, will be named for Walke.
A ceremony will be held to dedicate the Plant Zoo in Walke's name on May 10 at 1 p.m. at the Community Arboretum on the Virginia Western campus.
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