Obituary of Kenneth Walker

Kenneth Hurley Walker

15 April 1925 – 27 September 2022

Ken was born on 15 April 1925 in Montreal (Westmount), Quebec, spending several of his early years in an orphanage. Serving as a signalman in the Royal Canadian Navy aboard the HMCS Uganda during WWII, Ken was based in Esquimalt, British Columbia.

In 1956, Ken married and raised two children, Michael (Carolyn) and Michele, living in Burlington, Port Credit, Gravenhurst, and Grimsby until finally settling in North Bay in 1970. After a career as a sales representative in building supplies travelling all over northern Ontario and Quebec, his retirement didn’t last long when he joined the team at the North Bay Canadian Tire in 1995, where he worked until the age of 91.

A news, weather and sports fan, Ken attended many seasons of the North Bay Battalion hockey games with his son-in-law Bryan Brouse and friends and was always searching for his nightly hockey or baseball game fix on television. His lifelong love affair with his precious Montreal Canadiens was sparked in his youth when he would sneak into the Montreal Forum to watch the Habs games. In his 97.5 years, he saw them win 22 of their 24 Stanley Cups.

Ken loved talking to good people and he especially enjoyed going to his daily morning coffee club with the old boys, where he said, “everyone talked, and nobody listened.” He was known to everyone as an incredibly kind man, with an excellent sense of humour and who loved nothing more than a good snowstorm so he could get outside to move snow and groom the snowbanks or drive a car full of kids home after a sports practice or to/from a canoe trip.

Cindy O’Hare will miss their decades long friendship full of wisdom and laughs and his family is eternally grateful for her dedicated support of Ken especially in the latter years.

Ken will be remembered by his sister Dawn MacLeod of Vancouver, B.C. (age 96), Ginette Fortin and her children Dan Ethier, Carole Ethier and Cindy Brouse (Bryan), and as Poppa Ken to Megan and Melanie Brouse.

The family wishes to send a special thank you to the staff on Maple Street at Cassellholme, for the outstanding care and compassion for Ken during his time there.

Friends and family are invited to celebrate the long, purposeful, and beautiful life of Ken at Martyn Funeral Home (464 Wyld St. North Bay) on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, 10:00am – 12:00pm with a Commemorative Ceremony at 12:00pm. Casual attire is appropriate. Private burial will take place at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

The family welcomes donations in Ken’s name to Veterans Affairs, Cassellholme, or to a Heart & Stroke foundation of your choice.