Devoting his career to law enforcement, Harry A. Walker, 82, spent more than 30 years with the FBI and was among the first to work in the agency’s Des Plaines office.
When he retired in 1977 as the senior supervisory special agent, he oversaw as many as 15 special agents, all of whom he had trained.
“He was legend in the FBI. He was a great investigator, great with police cooperation, and nothing went on in Des Plaines without Harry knowing,” said Vincent Inserra, a retired FBI agent who headed the Chicago organized crime unit for 15 years in the 1960s and 1970s.
Mr. Walker of Schaumburg and formerly of Mt. Prospect, died Sunday, Jan. 27, in Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village. Born and raised in Newport, Ky., Mr. Walker was a basketball and football standout at Newport High School, where he graduated in 1937. His athletic prowess as a youth was recognized in 1986 when he was inducted into the Northern Kentucky High School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame.
Mr. Walker entered Morehead State University in Kentucky in 1941 on a full athletic scholarship. At Morehead, he was captain of his freshman basketball team; as a sophomore he played varsity basketball and football. His education was interrupted by military service, and he did not receive his bachelor’s of arts degree in education until 1946.
In World War II, Mr. Walker served in the Army Air Forces, working in intelligence while stationed in England and Germany. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
He married in 1946 and began his career with the FBI, working in Albuquerque, El Paso, Texas, and Tacoma, Wash.
In 1948 he was transferred to Des Plaines, where he handled everything from general crime, bank robberies, extortion and domestic security cases.
Mr. Walker moved to Mt. Prospect in 1956. He retired in 1977 and moved to Savannah, Ga., with his wife. He returned to Schaumburg in 2001.
He enjoyed sports, reading and traveling. “He was hard-driving, fun-loving and very loving,” said his daughter, Barrie Walker Swanson.
In addition to his daughter, he is survived by a sister, Betty Johnson, and a granddaughter. Visitation will be held from 10 until the time of services at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in Meadows Funeral Home, 3615 Kirchoff Rd., Rolling Meadows.
