Researching Jane Walker

Born on 31 January 1925 in Nairobi, Kenya, Walker grew up on a farm and was home-schooled by her mother during her primary school years. She completed her secondary education in England where she graduated from the Retford High School for Girls in 1944. During her time in England, she contracted poliomyelitis, the sequelae of which would progressively affect her ability to walk, particularly during her senior years. She earned her Bachelor of Science (with Honours) degree in 1948 and her Master of Science degree in 1959, both at Liverpool University. In 1983, she was awarded a Doctor of Science (Hon.) degree by the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Walker was first employed in 1949 in the Research Branch of Her Majesty’s Overseas Civil Service as a Research Officer in the East African Veterinary Research Organization in Muguga, Kenya, where she rose to Principal Scientific Officer before taking up a post as Senior Professional Officer at the Veterinary Research Institute, Onderstepoort, in 1966 upon the retirement of Gertrud Theiler. She spent the remainder of her working life at the Institute, rising through the ranks to Chief Veterinary Researcher, and serving as Specialist Scientist until failing health forced her retirement in 1990. After her formal retirement, she continued to work when able at Onderstepoort in an emeritus capacity until 1998. She was a leading expert on the tick genus Rhipicephalus and the African Amblyommas and served as a member of the Editorial Committee of the Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research from 1969 to 2000. During her active career, Walker authored or co-authored 53 scientific publications and five books, and described 18 new tick species. Walker died at her home in Pretoria on the morning of Friday 3 April 2009, leaving a vast legacy in her published works, and in the training and wisdom she imparted to others, including such eminent researchers as Gertrud Theiler and Harry Hoogstraal.