[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 4 (Thursday, January 7, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E15]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        REMEMBERING DOUG WALKER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SUZAN K. DelBENE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 7, 2016

  Ms. DelBENE. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to honor the life and legacy 
of my friend Doug Walker, who passed away on December 31, 2015, on 
Granite Mountain near Snoqualmie Pass.
   It is this wild, rugged landscape that lured Doug to Washington 
state and stoked his creativity, energy, and passions for more than 
four decades.
   A gifted mathematician with an insatiable fondness for climbing, he 
established strong roots in the community. The impact he--along with 
his wife Maggie--had on our community and the many charitable causes to 
which he gave his time and wisdom is unparalleled.
   A true champion for conservation, he cared deeply about protecting 
the North Cascades most treasured lands. But his greatest passion was 
broadening the constituency for conservation, and he worked tirelessly 
to ensure that all people--especially youth and those in underserved 
communities--could access the outdoors.
   Doug will be remembered and missed by so many whose lives he 
touched, with his incredible spirit and generosity. His legacy of 
inspiring others to experience and protect the outdoors lives on.
   I ask unanimous consent to submit for the Record a recent Seattle 
Times editorial commemorating Doug's life.

  Remembering a Tech, Environmental and Philanthropic Role Model: Doug 
                                 Walker

                  (The Seattle Times, January 5, 2016)

        The loss of software pioneer and philanthropist Doug 
     Walker, who died in a mountain accident, is a blow to the 
     region.
        But it's also an opportunity to remind people--especially 
     the flood of tech workers moving to the Puget Sound region--
     about the character and values of those who built the local 
     industry and became universal role models.
        Walker, the co-founder and longtime chief executive of 
     business-software company WRQ, created much more than 
     technology, jobs and wealth.
        WRQ was known for the quality of life it provided to 
     employees as much as it was for software that increased 
     productivity.
        As a second act, he helped build a new vehicle for 
     philanthropy, a giving platform, that continues to channel 
     the expertise and compassion of others who have done well in 
     the tech industry.
        Long after WRQ was sold and merged with a local 
     competitor, Attachmate, Walker continued to work on his third 
     act, serving as a national leader in wilderness preservation 
     and access.
        Walker was a lifelong outdoorsman who chose the University 
     of Washington for graduate school in the 1970s because of its 
     natural surroundings. Between adventures, he learned 
     programming and consulted on business computing systems.
        At the start of the PC era in 1981, he and friends pooled 
     $500 to start WRQ, which became one of the nation's largest 
     private software companies. It helped establish Seattle's 
     leadership in enterprise software, which drew other 
     entrepreneurs and companies to the area.
        WRQ thrived in part because Walker, the longtime chief 
     executive, made it a great place to work. Before Google's 
     free food and Facebook's hot tubs, WRQ had perks like kayak 
     parking on Lake Union.
        Later, Walker and his wife, Maggie, co-founded Social 
     Venture Partners, a global nonprofit that encouraged 
     thousands to share wealth and expertise with worthy causes. 
     SVP helped establish Seattle as a hotbed of highly engaged 
     philanthropy.
        Walker led by example with ``a uniquely powerful style . . 
     . simultaneously passionate, pointed, warm and sophisticated 
     in supporting the causes that he felt were important,'' said 
     Tony Mestres, who joined SVP while at Microsoft and now heads 
     the Seattle Foundation.
        That level of engagement and generosity has been a 
     hallmark of Seattle's earliest and most successful tech 
     entrepreneurs.
        Walker is a great example of why that tradition should 
     continue. He is remembered not for how much money he 
     accumulated but by how broadly he shared his gifts, both 
     financial and intellectual.

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