FIGHTER: June Walker was chair of one of America?s most influential Jewish organizations.

June Walker, chairwoman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and former national president of Hadassah, died July 29 after a seven-year battle with cancer. She was 74.

FIGHTER: June Walker was chair of one of America?s most influential Jewish organizations.

Walker, of Rockaway, N.J., led Hadassah, the national women’s Zionist organization, from 2003 to 2007. Last year, she became the second woman ever to lead the Presidents Conference, the umbrella organization of American Jewish groups.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

A trained respiratory therapist and a former director of in-service education for pulmonary medicine at Passaic Community College and also at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, Walker brought her passion for medicine to her work at Hadassah. She fought to support stem-cell research in America and served for six years on the board of directors at the Hadassah Medical Organization.

Walker’s tenure at Hadassah began just as the second intifada erupted in Israel. Under her leadership, the organization’s Israeli hospitals continued to treat patients without regard to race or religion. At the same time, Hadassah built the Judy and Sidney Swartz Center for Emergency Medicine, in response to the need for more trauma medicine facilities.

Last June, Walker traveled to Israel to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa for her years of service to the Jewish state. The current national president of Hadassah, Nancy Falchuk, said that despite the fact that Walker was in immense physical pain and her cancer had metastasized, she insisted on making the trip.

“She knew how ill she was, and yet she had milestones she wanted to achieve,” Falchuk said.

The following month, as the Hadassah conference kicked off in Los Angeles, Walker was scheduled to present the Henrietta Szold Award, the organization’s highest honor. Once again, Walker insisted on walking across the stage without the use of a wheelchair or even a cane.

“Nobody observing her would understand what a Herculean effort it would be to walk those steps,” said Morlie Levin, national executive director of Hadassah. “The personal grit she embodied is beyond anything most of us can imagine.”

Despite the length of Walker’s illness, many were not even aware that she was sick, Falchuk said.

In addition to her work on behalf of the Jewish people, Walker was a dedicated grandmother. She continued to prioritize her family, even as she emerged as a leader on the world stage. Falchuk said that when she succeeded Walker as national president, she called Falchuk to ask advice on a more family-oriented matter: how to pull off making holiday meals for 30 to 40 people.

“She gave me her brisket recipe, and I’ve used it ever since,” Falchuk said.

Walker is survived by her husband, Barrett; a son, David Walker; two daughters, Ellen Walker and Julie Richman, and six grandchildren.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount