LEWISVILLE - Von Walker, a giant in the development and growth of the Eastern Idaho farming community, passed away Monday at the age of 82.
Walker helped propel the farm industry in Eastern Idaho after partnering with other local men to clear sagebrush in the early 1940s. After deciding to venture on his own, Walker Farms was established in 1949 creating hundreds of jobs through the decades.
Farming for Von started with just a few acres in the Lewisville Valley. Later, he drilled one of the first wells on the Rexburg Bench. His farm then expanded to Osgood, Hamer and Ririe, turning the original farm into a prominent potato business.
He began with a small potato cellar and a few thousand sacks. His son, Rollie Walker, said he remembers Von declaring that he would completely fill the cellar.
"By the end of his life, he was raising two million sacks of potatoes a year," expressed Rollie, family spokesperson.
Von wasn't just about farming. He served in World War II as a guard during the War Crime Trials in the Philippines. His main duty was making sure the prisoners got their exercise. Later in life, he had a hand in video rentals inside hundreds of Albertson's nationwide, helped in the excavating of travertine, raised cattle, and probably the most phenomenal: he mined diamonds in Liberia from 1982 - 1992.
"Someone told him the best diamonds were in Liberia, and that's all he had to hear. He headed to Liberia and got diamonds out of the country," said Rollie.
He had to leave his mines after war broke out and was one of the last America's to be escorted out of the African country.
It wasn't about the money for Von, said his family. His sons said their dad loved mining and had a passion for hard work to make his dreams come alive.
"He was so goal oriented. It was really the process; it was the dream of obtaining that [goal]," reflected Rollie. "That hard work and determination also helped him to live as long as he did.
In 1993, Von received a heart transplant. He once again proved to be an exception by beating the odds by living more than 15 years after the transplant, long past the six years doctors originally gave him. Those same doctors knew he was a miracle and let his family know it.
"You've gotta know, every day is a gift," said Rollie as he remembered what doctors told him.
According to his family, he spent each of those days to the fullest. He loved his grandchildren and spoke to most of them every day. He was also still very involved in the day to day operations of his farm, which his sons now run. Even to the end, Von was always a business man.
"He never disengaged -- never ever. He knew what was going on with the price of potatoes, the crops, everything!"
Even with all he has done and the success he has had in his life, family says Von would give a lot of the credit to those in his community and his family.
Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at the Lewisville 1st Ward Chapel. The family will visit with friends at the church from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday evening and from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday. Burial will be in the Lewisville Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to Cardio Vascular Research in honor of Dr. Jeffery Lance Anderson, through The Deseret Foundation, 8th Ave. & C Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84143.
Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.eckersellfuneralhome.com.
