Horse-drawn funeral procession for Berkeley firefighter

BERKELEY- Berkeley officials announced there will be a hfuneral procession led by a horse and carriage on Saturday for Berkeley firefighter Jay Walter, who died Sunday at the age of 54.

Officials said the procession will take Walter's body by horse and carriage from Station 5 at 2680 Shattuck Ave. to St. Joseph the Worker Church at 1640 Addison St.

Walter's body will be accompanied by fire trucks, ambulances and firefighters on foot.

According to a memo from City Manager Phil Kamlarz to Mayor Tom Bates and the City Council, Walter joined the Fire Department in 1993 and was with the department for 15 years.

Kamlarz said that while Walter was recovering from an unrelated injury he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died at Stanford Hospital, surrounded by family and friends, according to Kamlarz.

He is survived by his wife Gerri, who's a firefighter for the Livermore Fire Department, his daughter Roslyn, his grandchild Addison and other family members.

Kamlarz said firefighters are exposed to many hazardous materials in the course of their works and deaths by cancer are treated as line-of duty deaths.

That's the reason for the walking firefighter and fire apparatus procession, Kamlarz said.

Walker was born in Westwood, served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and began his firefighting career in Morgan Hill.

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