MELVIN L. WALKER

JACKSON -- Melvin Leon Walker of Jackson died Friday, Jan. 23, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was 81.

He was born Nov. 22, 1916, in Oak Ridge, son of Ira Odus and Bernice Riehn Walker. On March 26, 1946, he married Hattie B. Blanken of Oak Ridge.

He was employed with the Cape Girardeau County Road District before World War II and as a leather cutter for International Shoe Co. in Jackson for 29 years after the war. He retired in 1979. He was a member of Altenthal-Joerns American Legion Post 158, the Jackson VFW and Old Salem United Methodist Church in Jackson.

He served in the U.S. Army during WWII and was awarded five Bronze Stars.

Survivors include his wife; two sons, Loy Welker and Larry Walker, both of Cape Girardeau; a daughter, Judy Walker of Jackson; two brothers, Dean and Marshall Walker, both of Jackson; a sister, Mildred Sievers of Jackson; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a sister.

Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. today at the Cracraft-Miller Funeral Chapel. A legion honor guard service will be held at 7:30. Funeral services begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday in the chapel, with the Rev. Fred Rister officiating. Burial will follow in Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson.