Dr. Billy Lake Walker of Huntsville, Alabama passed away Sunday night November 20, 2022, at Huntsville Hospital Hospice Family Care in Huntsville, Alabama. He was 85 years of age.
Funeral services will be held at First Baptist Church of Huntsville, Alabama on Sunday, November 27, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. with Dr. Travis Collins officiating. Visitation will begin at 12:30 p.m., preceding the service. He will be interred at Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville. A Celebration of Life memorial will be held at Galloway United Methodist Church in Jackson, Mississippi in January under the direction of Rev. Cary Stockett.
Dr. Walker was the son of Bradis Edward “Bill” and Verda Meadows Walker of Jackson, Mississippi. Preceding him in death are his beloved wife of fifty-seven years, Sylvia Hunt Walker, his parents, and his brother, Charles L. Walker. Surviving relatives include his two children, Emily Cook (Will) of Madison, Alabama and Lake Walker (Tammy) of Canton, Mississippi; his four grandchildren, Jackson William Cook, Sarah Grace Cook, and Davis Walker Cook of Madison, Alabama and John Richard Walker (Amanda) of Brandon, Mississippi; and his sister-in-law, Majel Dean (Jesse) of Osyka, Mississippi and their extended families.
Dr. Walker graduated in 1955 from Jackson Central High School. He pursued a Bachelor of Science Degree at Millsaps College before being admitted to the University of Mississippi Medical School in his junior year of undergraduate school. After finishing medical school in 1962 he completed internship and residency in pathology at the University of Mississippi and the University of Kentucky medical schools. Following a stint as a pathologist for the United States Air Force at Eglin Air Force Base during the Vietnam era, Dr. Walker practiced pathology at the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo from 1969 to 1985. He then moved back to his hometown of Jackson where he earned a Master of Business Administration degree at Millsaps College and served as pathologist at River Oaks Hospital. At that time, he developed an interest in dermatopathology and earned a fellowship in this field at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Following his training there he established Dermatopathology Associates, a private dermatopathology practice and laboratory. He also served as an instructor in dermatology for his alma mater, the University of Mississippi medical school. Dr. Walker was a longtime supporter of Millsaps College, an avid student of World War II history, and a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. He was an active member of Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church and First Baptist Church of Huntsville. Memorials may be directed to either of these churches.
