John M. Walker
Encyclopedia
Dr. John Mercer Walker, Sr. (1909?-August 16, 1990) was an American physician and investment banker. A member of the prominent Bush-Walker family
, he was a maternal uncle of US President George H.W. Bush.
Walker was one of six children of banker and businessman George Herbert Walker
. (Dr. Walker's sister Dorothy
married President Bush's father Senator Prescott Bush
.) Walker attended The Hill School
and later Yale University
, where he was a member of Skull and Bones
, and graduated in 1931. In 1936, Walker graduated from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
and went on to his residency
at Roosevelt Hospital
.
In 1939, he married Elsie Louise Mead, daughter of George Houk Mead, president of the Mead Corporation. They had three sons and four daughters. One daughter died of polio in 1955 and two daughters were born with Down syndrome
.
During World War II
he served as a major in the US Army in Europe. Walker had a private practice until he was diagnosed with polio in 1950. An skilled athlete, he would eventually need a wheelchair. In 1952, he joined Memorial Hospital (now part of Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center) as a clinical assistant in surgery and remained with the institution for 25 years, serving as president from 1965 to 1974.
In 1953, future President Bush's daughter Pauline Robinson "Robin" Bush was diagnosed with leukemia
. A local doctor advised them that treatment was futile, but Walker helped her get admitted to Memorial Sloan–Kettering. She lived another six months and died shortly before her fourth birthday. President Bush later wrote about his uncle:
Walker had a second career as an investment banker. He became a managing partner in G. H. Walker & Co.
, founded by his father in 1900, and a limited partner in Alex. Brown & Sons
.
In 1989, President Bush appointed Walker's son John M. Walker, Jr.
to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
. Bush told a White House lawyer "It's the least I can do for someone whose father did so much for me. Besides, Johnny's as well qualified as anyone else for the position."
Walker died of complications from an aneurism at age 81.
Bush-Davis-Walker family political line
The Walker family is a family of politicians from the United States. Below is a list of members:*William P. Walker , Massachusetts State Representative, Massachusetts State Senator, Massachusetts Governor's Councilman, Probate Court Judge in Massachusetts 1824–1848. Father-in-law of Julius Rockwell...
, he was a maternal uncle of US President George H.W. Bush.
Walker was one of six children of banker and businessman George Herbert Walker
George Herbert Walker
George Herbert Walker was a wealthy American banker and businessman. His daughter Dorothy married Prescott Bush, making him a grandfather of former President George H. W. Bush and a great-grandfather of former President George W. Bush.-Life and career:Born in St...
. (Dr. Walker's sister Dorothy
Dorothy Walker Bush
Dorothy Wear Walker Bush , mother to 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, and the grandmother of 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. Time on her death wrote that "George Bush was shaped and tempered by his mother's nature." Dorothy Bush raised her five children...
married President Bush's father Senator Prescott Bush
Prescott Bush
Prescott Sheldon Bush was a Wall Street executive banker and a United States Senator, representing Connecticut from 1952 until January 1963. He was the father of George H. W. Bush and the grandfather of George W...
.) Walker attended The Hill School
The Hill School
The Hill School is a preparatory boarding school for boys and girls located in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia....
and later Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he was a member of Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
, and graduated in 1931. In 1936, Walker graduated from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, often known as P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University that is located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan...
and went on to his residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
at Roosevelt Hospital
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
.
In 1939, he married Elsie Louise Mead, daughter of George Houk Mead, president of the Mead Corporation. They had three sons and four daughters. One daughter died of polio in 1955 and two daughters were born with Down syndrome
Down syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he served as a major in the US Army in Europe. Walker had a private practice until he was diagnosed with polio in 1950. An skilled athlete, he would eventually need a wheelchair. In 1952, he joined Memorial Hospital (now part of Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center) as a clinical assistant in surgery and remained with the institution for 25 years, serving as president from 1965 to 1974.
In 1953, future President Bush's daughter Pauline Robinson "Robin" Bush was diagnosed with leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
. A local doctor advised them that treatment was futile, but Walker helped her get admitted to Memorial Sloan–Kettering. She lived another six months and died shortly before her fourth birthday. President Bush later wrote about his uncle:
He was a great cancer surgeon, who had been stricken with polio. A strong and purposeful man. I told him of our local doc's advise and he said "You have no choice - none at all - you must treat this child. You must do all you can to keep her alive" and he went on to tell me of the strides in the field and of the importance of hope. So we treated her, and we watched her die before our eyes, but we also saw the wonders of remission and the dedication of the nurses and doctors, and we saw progress and we knew his advice was right. Six months later when it was all over - I thought back with gratitude for this sensible advice...
Walker had a second career as an investment banker. He became a managing partner in G. H. Walker & Co.
G. H. Walker & Co.
G.H. Walker & Co. was an investment banking and brokerage firm founded in 1900 by George Herbert Walker, grandfather and great-grandfather of Presidents George Herbert Walker Bush and George Walker Bush, and located at 1 Wall Street....
, founded by his father in 1900, and a limited partner in Alex. Brown & Sons
Alex. Brown & Sons
Alex. Brown & Sons was the first investment bank in the United States, founded by Alexander Brown in 1800 and based in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm was acquired by Bankers Trust in 1997 to form BT Alex...
.
In 1989, President Bush appointed Walker's son John M. Walker, Jr.
John M. Walker, Jr.
John Mercer Walker, Jr. is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a cousin of U.S. Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush...
to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
. Bush told a White House lawyer "It's the least I can do for someone whose father did so much for me. Besides, Johnny's as well qualified as anyone else for the position."
Walker died of complications from an aneurism at age 81.