JAMES HAMILTON WALWARK JR. September 15, 1933 – April 1, 2026
Jim Walwark, a resident of Oak Park, Illinois for over fifty years, passed away peacefully on April 1, 2026, in Norridge Illinois, with his daughter, Alison, by his side.
He was born at home in Edwardsville, Illinois to James Hamilton Walwark Sr. and Gladys Anna Mae Miller Walwark. Jim was raised in Belleville, Illinois and graduated in 1951 from Belleville Township High School where he was in the Little Theater Group and a member of the National Thespian Society.
That fall Jim entered Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He was a member of the Southern Players, Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, The Arnold Air Society and was the 1953-54 Junior Class President. He remained with SIU’s AFROTC for the full four years and was named Distinguished AFROTC Graduate. Jim received his B.S. in English and Education, 1955, and a Masters in English, 1956. Jim entered the United States Air Force as 2nd Lt. Navigator in September 1956, taking training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio with assignments at Ellington AFB, Houston, Mather AFB, Sacramento and Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. He retired from active-duty January 15, 1959, and by the end of the month he had begun his first semester teaching English at Oak Park-River Forest High School in Oak Park, Illinois.
Simultaneously he was in the AF Reserves and was honorably discharged as Captain in January 1968. In 1967 Jim helped create and administer the Alternative XP Program at OPRFHS - an experimental effort in open education, which advocated and implemented a closer personal relationship between teacher and student. Jim’s students in the XP Program considered him to be “a teacher who has an obvious interest in us as individuals.” During his tenure at OPRFHS, Jim was actively engaged in additional course work: small group interaction, etymology, humanities, and learning disabilities. In 1983 he utilized a one-semester sabbatical to travel the U.S. and Europe to investigate local educational resources. He was a part of the first Adult Evening Program as well as the original Evening School Diploma Program. For many of his earliest years at OPRFHS he taught Summer School. In 1985, Jim received the Outstanding Teacher Award from The University of Chicago. His students had cited him for "possessing an undying motivation and determination to inspire students to achieve, and to convince them that “every experience is worth writing about.” Jim’s students admired him for “his calm and humorous approach, facing insurmountable odds with a smile and a little chuckle, determination and patience” and for “the dedication, tolerance and care” he had for his students.
After his retirement from OPRFHS in 1992, Jim took his writing theories to adult communities by starting the Scribbles Group, encouraging his new student demographic to let hidden talents emerge by writing of experiences in a casual, free-flowing manner. His love of teaching, his desire to work with everyone who approached him for help in experiencing the skill and thrill of writing, and his respect for and love of reading history’s notable authors, spilled over for many years into another leisure time pursuit: that of being a docent at the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum in Oak Park.
Jim and Polly joined Unity Temple twenty years ago and were for many years, active and engaged members. Jim served as a Pastoral Associate, then the name for the team that provided a listening presence to those in need. “His warmth and compassion were visibly evident, and his inviting and welcoming manner was a gift to all those around him.” Jim will be forever missed by all those who knew his gusto and his hearty laughter.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Polly Andrews Walwark; his children from his first marriage to Annette Baldwin: Alison Walwark and Bruce Walwark; grandchildren Louisa Kwasigroch (Nick), David Walwark Jr. (Marija Zimkute), James Walwark, Maxwell Noto (Caitlin Sciackitano) Elliot Walwark (Karrigan McKinnon), and Claire Walwark; great-grandchildren Louise & Vivian Kwasigroch and Ignas Walwark. He is predeceased by his son David James Walwark Sr. [d.2017] (Louise Gruenberg) and his brother Dale Miller Walwark [d.2024] (Penny Walwark).
A memorial service to honor the life of Jim Walwark will be held Sunday, May 3, at 2 p.m. at the Unity Temple Universal Unitarian Church, 875 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois. This service will be live-streamed and recorded for viewing on Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation's YouTube Page.
