RogerWALKERRoger Lewis Walker, 92, of Los Angeles California, died peacefully on September 1, 2026.
Born October 9, 1933, in Warrington, England, Roger grew up in the English countryside during the Second World War, watching the Yanks as they trained in the fields and the Lancaster Bombers being built down the way. He also had one of those trek-miles-through-the-snow type commutes to Manchester Grammar School, but those stories weren't nearly as fascinating to his American born children.
He attended Victoria University of Manchester, where he would later go on to receive his medical degree. There, he brilliantly talked his way through one or two oral exams for which he was less than prepared, spending much of his time playing for the English School's Rugby Union team. If you've traveled through France with Roger, you were lucky enough to hear boisterous tales of away games that his wife would lament him repeating to his delighted preteen daughters.
Roger researched for his doctorate in blood gases at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. He would go on to say that getting your PhD was one of the best times in a person's life. He was then reminded that not everyone got theirs studying the effects of gases under pressure while SCUBA diving in the Caribbean. Still, he convinced two of his daughters to get their certifications and dive with him until he hit the age when he preferred being in the boat. He did not convince any of them to get a PhD.
From Jamaica, he moved to Puerto Rico and then Miami, Florida, where he practiced anesthesia at Jackson Memorial Hospital. There he became a lifelong Miami Hurricanes fan and met Pamela Lefevre, the red-headed nurse he would talk into marrying him. It wasn't long before he was Chief of Anesthesia at Mercy Hospital, which was a colorful and interesting place to be during the Miami Vice-era 1980s. He and Pamela had three daughters who all thought he was hilarious, never really noticed his accent - except on words like "schedule" and "depot" - and often showed up to the surgery department asking for money to use at the mall. He never said no.
Roger loved to travel, especially on monster road trips through Europe and walks along Hadrian's Wall. Reports are still unclear as to whether or not he traversed the whole thing. He loved his dogs - and anyone else's - and he loved Manchester United Football Club, to the point of keeping the vanity plates on his car even after he retired and moved to Los Angeles to be closer to his grandchildren. His accountant thought that he was insane to migrate to a high-tax state, but Roger was truly more clever than most. He was well loved. His laughter and quick wit are already much missed.
He is survived by his wife, Pamela Lefevre Walker; his children Katherine Walker, Victoria Allen (Charles) and Elisabeth Ehrich (James); and his grandchildren, Sophie, Penelope and Walker Ehrich. A funeral will be held on Monday, September 14th at 12:30pm at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, 90068. In lieu of flowers, have a pint of Bitter, his favorite. It's better than you imagine it could be, just like he was.
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