Obituary of Steven L. Walker

Steven L. Walker of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, formerly of Mendham, died suddenly on Aug. 9, 2014. He was 52. Born on December 17, 1961 in Orange, New Jersey, he grew up inMendham with his parents and three siblings, before relocating to Morristown, and later, in 1995, to Basking Ridge. At Mendham High School, he dedicated himself to playing soccer and was consistently recognized as an area and state all-star player. He was recruited to Wake Forrest University on a soccer scholarship and was later involvedin coaching youth soccer in the Mendham and Basking Ridge areas, while working at the Mendham Racquet Club. He first discovered his lifelong passion for both photography and traveling in the course of an extended trip to Australia, after which he became a serious practitioner of animal photography. His photographicexperience included working asa photo editor for a National Geographic photographer andserving asthe official photographer for the Philadelphia Zoo and the Audubon Society's Project Puffin in Maine. Steven was an ardent animal lover, from the many cats that he adopted and nurtured to the wide variety of wild animals he so sensitively and beautifully photographed. He designed, wrote and published several colorful children's books using animal photos toencourage youngreaders to recognize and learn abouta wide variety of animals. Steven earned an Associate Degree from the Morris Community College in 1985. He was also an accomplished woodworker and worked for several years at King Boatworks in Putney, VT, building racing shells. Steven spent the last 12 years of his professional life as an Auto Salesman and Certified Brand Ambassador at Ray Catena Porsche in Edison, NJ and was managing the sale of the new Porsche 918 Spyder when he passed away. His family and many lifelong friends will remember him as a loving and giving son, brother and uncle.His energy, creativity, generosity, courage and optimism under adversity, and especially his unbridled sense of humor were an inspiration to all and he will be dearly missed. He is survived by his mother, Jacquelyn Walker, and her husband, Steve Anderson of Putney, VT; two sisters, Linda Penn of Madison, CT, and Sharon Walker ofSeattle, WA; one brother Keith Walker of Clifton Park, NY; two step-sisters Teja Anderson of Monmouth Beach, NJ, and Judy Anderson Cosgrove of Kinderhook, NY; and one step-brother, Daniel Anderson of Forest Hills, NY. He is also survived by his eleven beloved nieces and nephews: Courtney, Kaitlyn, Cora, Zachary, Whitney, Drew, Jaden, Olivia, Jesse, Luke, and Megan. A memorial service will be held on Thursday Sept. 18, 2014 at 2pm at the Hilltop Presbyterian Church, Hilltop Road, Mendham, NJ.There will be a second memorial service in Putney, Vermont for Steven's friends there at a later date this fall. Donations in the memory of Steven Walker can be made to Project Puffin:https://give.audubon.org/Giving/Page/131/1/131