Douglas Walker
March 8, 1950 - January 11, 2019
Dear Friends,
Douglas Walker, a beloved member of the Fellowship of Friends, completed his task due to complications of the liver; at 4:14 pm, Friday, January 11, 2019. Douglas would have turned sixty-nine years old on March 8, 2019.
Douglas joined the Fellowship in San Francisco, April 25, 1979; living there until he went to support the center in Portland in December 1980. He returned to the Bay Area in 1982 and eventually moved to Apollo, making it his permanent home in 2000. He was active in helping to create and sustain the Hygeia Society – an early version of the Circle of Friends.
On behalf of all who knew you, we thank thee.
The Elysian Society
Funeral Service Text: Douglas Walker 2019-01
That is at bottom the only courage that is demanded of us:
to have courage for the most strange, the most singular and the most inexplicable that we may encounter.
Rilke
He endured his physical pain with a sweet, calm, and positive energy.
Douglas and I lived as neighbors on the same property in separate dwellings almost a year.. He was always friendly and pleasant to speak with even though he was suffering from a dysfunctional liver. Earlier, he had cancer of the liver that was in remission, but it disqualified him from receiving a liver transplant, which could have added years to his life. He was not bitter about this. He was always positive and enjoyed his life as much as possible. He made no demands. His mobility and energy was severely restricted He enjoyed the company of several friends who visited him. He lived in a tiny cottage for many years.
The property we lived on was sold after I was there for a year and Douglas was there for more than 15 years. I had to live in a small place, but not as small as his; it is not easy to do this from personal experience, He was very weak from the progression of the liver disease. He never complained about having to find another place in a difficult rental market or having to leave a place that he lived in for a long time. It was hard on him to move, pack, unpack, and fortunately he had friends who were willing to help.
I was fortunate that he was able to visit me in my new rental. The last time I saw him was at a memorial dinner for Elizabeth on the anniversary of her passing.