Obituary of Donald James Walton
DONALD JAMES WALTON (born June 3 1933, died June 4 2018)
Donald James Walton was born in 1933 in Bishop Auckland, a market town in Durham, England, on the eastern side of the Pennine Chain. His father was a physics teacher at the local grammar school and his mother was a trained singer. Donald’s primary school was a lively place due to a council that was determined to improve the lives of the local coal mining community. When he was 10 his family moved to Dorchester in Dorset near the south coast. He attended the Dorchester Grammar School where he was well-trained in science. His activities with the Scouts (he became a King’s scout) led to a lifelong love of hiking and camping. He also thoroughly enjoyed glider flying at an intermediate level with the air cadets.
He finished a degree in organic chemistry at Bristol University in 1955. He then moved to Kingston, Ontario to pursue a doctorate in the same discipline at Queen=s University. There he met his future wife, Rosalind Stevenson, and in 1959, when their studies were complete they moved to Sandwich, Kent, England where he worked as a chemist in a pharmaceutical firm, and, later, as a lecturer in two colleges of technology, one in Swansea, Wales, the other in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England.
In 1965 he returned to Kingston with Rosalind and first child, Jennifer to assume a teaching and research position in the Queen’s University biochemistry department. He took a great interest in the chemical interactions of sugars with proteins, particularly in tissues of diabetics. He very much valued his association with his research colleagues.
He was a member of St. George’s Cathedral and sang in the choir for many years.
Donald leaves behind his wife Rosalind, daughter Jennifer (Dean Sharpe), sons Christopher (Antonia Guidotti) and Michael, and four grandchildren, Alexa, Julian, Colin and Mason. Donald loved canoeing and hiking in the parks and conservation areas in and near Kingston, and was very pleased to observe similar enthusiasm for the outdoors among his children and grandchildren.
A memorial service followed by a celebration of his life will be held at St. George’s Cathedral (270 King St. E) on Saturday June 16th at 2:30 PM. Following the celebration of life, all are welcome to join the family for a reception at the rear of the church.
In lieu of flowers please leave a donation to Lunch by George ( a lunch programme at St. George’s Cathedral for homeless people) or the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority Foundation https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/5091
