Walter B. Parker

Walter Bruce "Walt" Parker (August 11, 1926 – June 25, 2014) was an American civil servant, policy adviser, transportation adviser, academic and local politician. Parker's career focused on the development of natural resources, transportation and infrastructure in Alaska from the 1940s to the 2000s. In 1989, Alaska Governor Steve Cowper appointed Parker as the chairman of the Alaska Oil Spill Commission, which investigated the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Parker was inducted into the Alaska Conservation Hall of Fame by the Alaska Conservation Foundation in 2002 for his contributions to state conservation.

Early and personal life Walter Bruce Parker was born on August 11, 1926, in Spokane, Washington.

He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. A biologist with bachelor's and master's degrees from Alaska Methodist University, Patricia Parker became an adjunct professor at Alaska Methodist University and a biology teacher in the Anchorage School District. Parker also studied at the University of Washington, completed a certificate in administrative management at Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and took graduate courses at the Sino-Soviet Institute at George Washington University. The University of Alaska awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Science in 1997.

Career Following the end of World War II, Parker was given the option of working for the federal government in either Alaska or China.

Following the formation of the Arctic Council in 1996, Parker became a member of the council's Sustainable Development Working Group, as well as a delegate to the Arctic Council's Senior Arctic Officials and the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy Working Group on Emergency Preparation, Prevention and Response. Parker was named to the Creating Alaska Project's Advisory board, an honorary group of prominent Alaskan leaders which oversaw the project. Other members of the 21-person board included former territorial and state governors Mike Stepovich and Walter Hickel, former First Lady Neva Egan, and journalist William Tobin.

Walter Parker died at his home in Anchorage, Alaska, on June 25, 2014, at the age of 87 following a short illness with double pneumonia. He was survived by his five children. His wife of 55 years, Patricia Ertman Parker, died on July 17, 2001.