Rug Expert Richard Walker Dies at 65

Pittsburgh, PA, October 4, 2005 -- Richard T. Walker, 65, Richard T. Walker, 65, owner of Walker Rugs in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, has died. He had had surgery a few weeks ago and was recovering enough that he had returned to work Friday at his Walker Rugs store on Washington Road in Mt. Lebanon. Later that day, he had a heart attack and died at home, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Mr. Walker's death does not mean the end of the family-owned business, which will continue under the guidance of his son, Richard T. Walker Jr. of South Fayette, but it does mark the end of a long career spent searching out rugs across the world and learning the nuances of wools, patterns and knots per square inch. "He could smell a rug and know where it came from," according to his wife, Kathleen Lynott Walker of Upper St. Clair. Mr. Walker had planned to become a lawyer, studying political science as an undergraduate at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. But when his father died at the age of 51, the son went into the family business after graduation instead. He grew up around the Oriental rug store his father, Russell C. Walker, founded in the late 1930s in a space inside Boggs & Buhl department store. It moved in 1940 to a site inside Kaufmann's department store, Downtown. The second-generation rug merchant expanded the business to other cities, opening freestanding stores or setting up shop inside department stores in places like Atlanta, Houston, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., St. Louis and Indianapolis. "He grew it enormously," said his daughter, Mary May, now of Bath, Ohio. Long before the Internet and e-mail made global business easier, Mr. Walker traveled to Iran to search out fine rugs and went to China after President Nixon's visit to find new sources for merchandise and to help that country's rug makers work through export regulations. The expertise he gained over the years meant he was called at times to serve as an expert witness in court cases or for insurance purposes, according to his daughter. At home, the family's hardwood floors were, of course, covered with fine rugs. The children, when they were small, were impressed at the unusual sight of wall-to-wall carpet at their friends' houses, something that made their parents laugh. Walker Rugs left its Downtown site at Kaufmann's in 1996, heading to the suburban climes that had taken away a lot of the shoppers who once traveled to the city. The family decided to cut back elsewhere, focusing their attention on the Mt. Lebanon store. In his spare time, Mr. Walker loved to golf and was a member of St. Clair Country Club. In addition to his wife, daughter and son, Mr. Walker is survived by another daughter, Anne Watterson, of Solon, Ohio; a son, John Walker, of Atlanta; a brother, Russell Walker, of North Fayette; and seven grandchildren. Mass was celebrated yesterday at St. John Capistran Church in Upper St. Clair, and burial was in Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Peters. Arrangements were handled by Beinhauer's Mortuary in Peters.

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