Karen Walker, civic leader, S.F. Style authority, dies at 77
Karen Walker arrived in Santa Fe nearly half a century ago with two young sons and $500 in her pocket. She went on to become a successful real estate agent, an authority on the city’s unique architectural style and a civic leader. Walker, 77, died Wednesday. “She did what we all should do: She gave to the community,” son Patrick Walker said. “She was all about trying to help the city. She spent countless hours trying to make the city better without an agenda.”
Over a span of about three decades, Walker served on numerous city boards and commissions, including the Historic Design Review Board, the Charter Commission and the Planning Commission. She also made an unsuccessful run for mayor.
“She had common sense,” former Mayor Sam Pick said. “She knew whenever public issues came up, she was certainly on the side of preservation. But she could certainly be understanding and know how to get things done.”
Pick helped Walker with her run for mayor in the 2006 election, which David Coss won. Pick said that while she staked out clear positions on issues, Walker also found common ground with those who did not agree with her.
Patrick Walker described his mother as fair, intelligent and nonpartisan.
“All she wanted was for the city not to be corrupt and not be inept,” he said.
In 1995, The New Mexican named Walker a recipient of one of its annual 10 Who Made a Difference awards, which honor community volunteers in Northern New Mexico. The newspaper cited Walker’s public service.
Though professionally successful, Walker was “not out for herself or out to make a buck,” said John Pen La Farge, president of the Old Santa Fe Association, who had known Walker for decades.
Walker was not only a member of the association, he said, but she served as its historical memory on development and preservation of Santa Fe.
Walker pursued her love for architectural integrity and authenticity through public service, La Farge said, and participated on “just about every committee and board that the city has” on such matters. Through her service, Walker staked out positions by looking out for the greater good, La Farge added.
A mark of Walker’s work, La Farge said, is the city’s escarpment ordinance, which she helped write. The ordinance prohibits certain hilltop developments that blemish Santa Fe’s vistas.
Walker worked on the ordinance from 1989-91, according to her company’s website.
Juggling family, business and public service, Walker still found time to become an author who wrote authoritatively about Santa Fe style and real estate. In a 2012 review of her third real estate book, The New Mexican wrote that Walker “knows as much as anyone about buying and selling real estate” in Santa Fe.
Walker in 2014 received awards from the city Historic Preservation Division and the Old Santa Fe Association.
Walker was born in Santa Monica, Calif., and attended Brown University, Patrick Walker said. She later earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of California in Los Angeles, graduating first in her class, he said.
“At the time, women didn’t apply for master’s programs,” her son said.
Patrick Walker said a Los Angeles judge was so impressed with his mother that the judge offered to pay her way through law school. She declined.
In 1970, Karen Walker loaded Patrick and his brother, Jim, into a Plymouth Barracuda for the move to Santa Fe from California’s San Fernando Valley.
Patrick Walker said his mother helped start the tailgating tradition at The Santa Fe Opera. She taught history and government at Santa Fe Prep, he said, then opened Karen Walker Real Estate in 1975.
“She was awfully successful,” Pick said. Her sons eventually joined their mother in her real estate business.
Patrick Walker said his mother wanted a party following her death. It will be held April 22 at her house. Contact Justin Horwath at 505-986-3017 or jhorwath@sfnewmexican.com.