Timothy Dean Walker

Born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 18, 1937, Timothy was the third of 14 children born to Thelma Jacobson and George Walker. He attended elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse and high school in Great Bend, Kansas before the family moved to Westminster in 1952. Tim played on the football, basketball, and baseball teams at Westminster High School and lettered in all three sports all three years.

WHS is also where Tim met the love of his life, Betty Jane Stroh. The high school sweethearts graduated in the Class of 1955, then went on to college at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Tim graduated with a BA in history in 1959; he and Betty married that summer, on July 11, 1959. Tim earned his MA in history, also at CU-Boulder, in 1967. The couple raised their three children, Timothy Jr., Eric, and Kelly, in Lakewood, where both had long careers as public school teachers. Tim loved his job—he taught history in Denver Public Schools, where he inspired and mentored thousands of U.S. History and Government students, for 33 years.

A die-hard fan of Dire Straits, master barbecue smoker, incorrigible nicknamer, Mr. Fix-It, mediocre (occasionally frustrated) fisherman, cutthroat poker player, and hardcore fan of any sport under the sun, “Pops,” as his family and many friends called him, was a role model for what it meant to be a loving, loyal husband and father. A fixture in his community, Pops knew every grocery store clerk and neighbor on a first-name basis, and never met a coupon he didn’t like.

In addition to the many hobbies and dear friendships he maintained throughout his life, Pops was steadfast in his commitment to Team Sugarbee, the cycling team that raised funds to fight Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that affected his youngest child, Kelly. “Mom & Pops Walker,” as Betty and Tim were widely known, were second only to Kelly herself as team mascots, and ran the lunch stop on the Colorado National MS Society Chapter’s annual MS-150 fundraiser bike ride for 20 years. Team Sugarbee was the first non-corporate team in the chapter’s history to raise over $1 million for researching treatments for MS.

After raising their family in Lakewood, the Walkers moved to Fort Collins to care for their daughter Kelly for the last decade of her 33-year battle with MS. Naturally, they quickly made friends with Kelly’s friends and neighbors and established a wonderful community in Northern Colorado, including Kelly’s former colleagues at the Colorado State University Health and Human Sciences Department.

Timothy was preceded in death by his parents, George and Thelma Walker, three sisters, two brothers, and his beloved daughter Kelly, who died of complications of MS in 2022. He is survived by his wife, Betty, sons Tim Jr. (Heidi) and Eric, his grandchildren Emma (Bix), Cameron (Natalie), and Anna, his great-grandsons Luca and Angus, and by two sisters, seven brothers, extended family members and countless dear friends.

Tim Walker's Celebration of Life Service will be held on July 5, 2025 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

1101 Center Avenue Mall

Ft. Collins, CO 80521

Colorado State University Campus

Lory Student Center University Ballroom & Lounge

3rd floor, Room 399

Parking is available in the north parking lot #310 (enter from W. Laurel St. & S. Meldrum St.; park as close to LSC as possible).

In lieu of flowers, contributions to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the CSU Foundation Kelly Walker Health Promotion Scholarship, or Lubick Foundation’s Ram Strength Fight Against Cancer can be made in Timothy’s memory.