College Hall security guard dies

Charles Walker always had a warm smile on his face and a cheerful greeting for every visitor, student, staff member or administrator who entered College Hall each day.

Walker, a security officer who could be found outside University President Judith Rodin's office, died of a heart attack while sleeping last Saturday.

"He was a wonderful ambassador for Penn and went out of his way to make everyone who entered College Hall feel welcome," Rodin wrote in an e-mail statement.

Others who worked with and near him agreed, pointing out that he was a friendly person who no one seemed to pass without saying hello.

"We all knew him and we all loved him," said Nancy Nicely, Office of the Provost spokeswoman, who worked alongside Walker in College Hall.

Walker was chosen for his position in College Hall because of his personality, according to Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush.

"Many people go in and out of College Hall, and he was like a concierge. He did a fabulous job," Rush said. "He prided himself on being helpful, especially to new students and parents."

Rush said she often received positive feedback about Walker. Approximately one week before his death, she told him about a call to the office in praise of his "always going the extra mile."

"When I told him about the phone call, he was just beaming," Rush said. She added that after hearing of his death last week, "I was very grateful that he found out how much he was appreciated."

Walker's other former colleagues echoed Rush's sentiments.

"He was just a wonderful guy," Jane Gallen, another staff member in the Provost's Office, said. "He was a great co-worker and representative for Penn."

"Charles was a beautiful soul," Nicely said. "He was the kind of person who instantly made you feel better when you saw him, no matter what kind of day you were having. He was very outgoing, warm and friendly, and very committed to Penn."

Before returning to his native Philadelphia and joining the security department at Penn, Walker, 51, spent some time on the West Coast, serving as a bodyguard for such celebrities as Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.

"He was pretty discrete about that," Nicely said. "If you asked, he would certainly share, and he had some good stories to tell, but it wasn't something he spoke about very often."

Walker was a man with a wide range of talents, including singing, teaching, poetry and photography. The Philadelphia Daily News reported that as a child, he was a member of the Philadelphia Boys Choir, and later sang with the choir at his church, Morris Brown African Methodist Episcopal. He lived in North Philadelphia, and is survived by his mother, Elizabeth Miller, and four siblings.

Services for Walker will be held at 11 this morning at Morris Brown AME Church, at 25th Street and Montgomery Avenue.

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