Robert Walker, a pioneer in Christian periodical publishing and the last surviving founder of the Evangelical Press Association, died Saturday, March 1, at a retirement community in Carol Stream, Ill. He was 95.
A former athlete and avid weightlifter, Walker had suffered from Parkinson’s disease since 2005.
Walker was the founder and editor of His magazine, designed to reach students on secular college campuses. He founded Christian Bookseller magazine, now known as Christian Retailing. Walker is known for introducing Christian personality profile stories to Christian reading audiences. Walker also founded Creation House, a book publishing company.
In 1941 Walker started a magazine called Sunday, which he renamed Christian Life in 1948 after acquiring Christian Life & Times from a friend. Christian Life would merge with Charisma, the flagship magazine of Strang Communications in 1986; the publication now has more than 230,000 subscribers.
“Beyond all his accomplishments, Bob Walker was a deeply spiritual man who lived a life of utmost integrity,” said Stephen Strang, founder and publisher of Strang Communications. He added, “He impacted the lives of millions and will continue to do so through the publications he founded. We believe we’re the heirs of his publishing legacy. His life deeply impacted me and my entire organization. He’ll be missed.”
Walker graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He worked as a sports editor for the Menominee Herald Leader in Michigan, then as a copy editor for the Rosenow Company of Chicago. He was an assistant professor of journalism as Wheaton College from 1941 to 1951, and served in various capacities with the Scripture Press Foundation.
Walker was the last surviving member of the group of Christian editors and publishers who gathered in Chicago in 1948 to form the Evangelical Press Association. “We sat around and said, hey, we can encourage one another and stimulate one another, and serve our constituencies better by coming together periodically,” he recalled.
Doug Trouten, executive director of the Evangelical Press Association, said, “The death of Bob Walker ends an important chapter in the history of evangelical journalism. Bob was the last of the founding members of the Evangelical Press Association. He and other pioneering publishers joined together to learn from one another so they could do a better job of serving God, and serving their readers. Bob was a giant in our industry, and countless lives were touched through his work with His Magazine, Christian Life, and the Christian Writer's Institute. The Christian journalism world has grown significantly sine those early days, but only because we stand on the shoulders of giants like Bob Walker.”
Walker also founded the Christian Writers’ Institute, a correspondence program designed to raise standards in the world of Christian writing. “In those days, there weren't any Christian journalists, no trained journalists,” Walker recalled. “Most of the denominational publications were edited by chaps who were pastors, usually retired pastors, or men who couldn't cut it in the pulpit but who were good writers. Most of the articles that appeared in those denominational publications were excerpts from sermons.”
Walker is survived by his wife Barbara, and by his five children, Gwyneth, Telford, Rob, Kent and Cherry (all from Walker’s late wife, Jean Browning Clements, who he married in 1937). He is also survived by grandchildren and great-grand children.
Read Stephen Strang's tribute to Walker
Read an interview with Walker about the founding of EPA.
