In lieu of flowers, donations are being gratefully accept towards the ceremony and reception costs for Nowell's celebration of life schedule at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral on April 12, 2025, at 12:12 pm.
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A Celebration of Life will be held in the Great Hall on April 12, 2025, at 12:12 p.m. at St. Paul Episcopal Cathedral located at 2728 Sixth Avenue, San Diego, CA 92103.
In lieu of flowers, donations are gratefully being accepted to fund the ceremony and reception costs. Please donate what you are able toward Nowell's celebration of life.
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His name represents the English masculine version of Christmas, all that comprises love, joy, happiness, compassion and peace. It’s everything Nowell was and is.
So, it was decreed on April 9, 1975, God sent on the wings of angels the beautiful spirit of Nowell Reginald Walker with his parents, David and Bonnie Walker as the vessel chosen to bring him forth for his earthly assignment.
Growing up on Washington state land, he picked strawberries, explored his vast musical talents and honored his connections to all animals as a whisperer to their beings. His horse, dogs, cats and a goat he raised - as a part of Future Farmers of America - found haven in him, knowing he spoke their souls. He savored the times of Grandpa Morgan on his ranch in Idaho. Helped with horses, cattle and sheep. The horses were his life. His grandpa his hero.
The stage brought further vitality to his life. Blessed with the gift of music and song, Nowell played piano, violin to accompany his amazing voice. He sang in both his church and school, ultimately choosing the high school swing choir to share his musical gift. He was one of a select group of high school vocalists to participate in Sound of America to perform in the United States and European countries Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Luxembourg and France. In college, he was chosen to play Atticus Fitch in the famed play To Kill A Mockingbird. He continued his education Brigham Young University in Idaho focusing on Business Administration and minoring in Italian Studies.
His education set him on a path to further expound on the intricacies he learned of the insurance business working at his father’s Farmers Agent office. That foundation launched a lifelong profession.
Nowell built a successful reputation in the niche specialty of Commercial Construction Defect Litigation handling complex claims across the entire country, directing defense and coverage counsel, with attorneys nationwide soliciting his expertise. He was renowned for his negotiating prowess. He navigated continuous state-specific licensing requirements in the 39 states, which is almost an impossible feat; therefore, allowing him freedom to become the rock star that the industry nicknamed him. For the last year and a half, he worked for a dream of a company, Align General of Dual North America, a Howden Group Holding headquartered in London. His intellect and his beautiful spirit were so valued, he annually received an onslaught of Christmas gifts from law firms cross country to acknowledge and thank him.
His spiritual journey included a two-year Italian service mission, learning the rich history through every Italian city and village he stayed. His world travels led to eventually finding himself particularly drawn to Transcendental Meditation and the spiritual practices of Buddhism and the Native American communities. Further expanding his musical gifts, he found solace and comfort in playing singing bowls. He fundamentally understood everyone, and everything held a divine place.
It was divine order that brought him a decade ago to cross paths with his love, Jonathan Widener. The two built a life together taking care of their “fur kids”, as they called their pets, and each other. They filled that special place in each other’s life, that many pray to find—a soft landing to love and be loved with protected hearts. They brought community together sitting as co-treasurer and board members of Linda Vista Town Council, and each week at the farmer’s market they helped recreate to spread the love they found in each other with the community they called home.
Together, Nowell continued to be what he always was-- an empath that cared to the deepest depths of his being to heal the wounded and shine light and love.
His support for a litany of charities was ENDLESS. In particular, he gave to scores of causes, from those suffering in war-torn communities and domestic violence survivors to multitudes of LGBTQ+ and animal organizations. He read a dozen books on neurodivergence and was highly involved in the LGBTQ+ community to better understand himself and help others in support groups. After all, those things made him the brilliant, loving man he was. Always an empath with deep feeling that every being mattered and held worth. From a child onward, his generous spirit rose for all whose paths he crossed. He wanted to simply make the world a better place.
He was a proud KPBS Producers Club member and one would always find him listening to NPR in the car and especially his favorite radio show Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me: The NPR News Quiz for which brought him a million laughs. He rarely ever missed an episode. And his favourite TV series’ were Endeavor and All Creatures Great And Small.
As an active supporter of Love, Linda Vista Farmer’s Market, he was beloved by the vendors -- with him patronizing all of them while building community among them -- with the market honoring his legacy, by renaming it in his name for the month of January.
Nowell loved Christmas and Winter Solstice the most. He was so spiritually connected possessing an intuition for angelic signs. He studied numerology and loved what he called Angel Numbers.
So, it was divinely fitting, the man whose name represents one of the holiest of times, with Native American flute music playing returned to forever into God’s loving arms on the wings of angels December 22nd, 2024, at 12:12 am, surrounded by his loving soulmate, his parents, siblings, and his chosen family. “Grandma” Peggy Budd and chosen big “sister”, Evelyn Chan
His sweet spirit of love will forever reign in the life of his husband and soulmate, Jonathan Widener; his parents, David and Bonnie Walker; his siblings, Ian Walker, Christina Walker Smith, Nate (Katie) Walker, Matt (Lindsay) Walker, and Laura (Anthony) Walker Lopez, Daniel (Maddy) Walker, and Weidan (Kirsten) Walker; and most importantly his fur kids Oliver James Henry Francis, Khloe Ann Elizabeth, Tigger Reginald, Mauser William and Emma Abbey Rose. His fur kid, Penelope Violet preceded him.
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