Rickey “Rick” Deleace Walker

September 16, 1952 – November 14, 2021

On November 14, 2021, we lost our beloved husband, father, and friend Rickey “Rick” Deleace Walker, of Gresham Oregon, to cancer at the age of 69.

Rickey was born on September 16, 1952, in Corpus Christi, Texas to Berry and Marie Walker. Berry Walker was in the Air Force and the family moved to Washington for a brief time before settling in Portland, Oregon in the late 1950s.

Rickey attended Gresham High School where he played football. He later attended Mt. Hood Community College where he studied automotive mechanics. Rickey loved to dance. In school he and his friend Steve would make up choreographed dance sequences; he had disco fever and met his wife dancing at the Cattle Company in 1977.

Perhaps more than dance, he loved sports. He was an avid foosball player and even won the state championship one year. He also played tournament racquetball and pool. He fished all of his life and in his later years played golf every chance he got.

His first job driving truck was 40 years ago in Portland at the Produce Row. In the 1980s he owned his own trucking company and the family moved to Colorado and later Arizona. When he returned to Oregon he would eventually go to work for Northwest Natural where he was well known as a practical joker. He made a lot of friends at the gas company and retired from Northwest Natural as a crane operator in 2017.

Rick married Sue in 1979 and soon after their daughter, Camille Walker, was born. In 1981, they had a son, Richard Walker. Rick is probably best known for how deeply he loved his family and friends. He was there for anyone who needed him and was loyal and kind. Because of his affable nature, Rick leaves behind not only a large family but a huge network of friends, all of whom feel his loss greatly. In addition to his wife and children, Rick is survived by his two grandsons, Miles and Hugo, as well as many cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews.

His family is planning a celebration of life in 2022.