Former Georgia House Majority Leader Larry Walker dies at 84
Larry Walker Jr., the longtime majority leader for the Georgia House of Representatives, died Tuesday.
He was 84.
Houston County coroner James Williams confirmed Walker’s death Wednesday. He said Walker died at his home, surrounded by his family and under the care of hospice.
Walker, a Houston County Democrat, served as majority leader from 1986 to 2004. He is the father of current Georgia Senate President Pro Tem Larry Walker III.
Walker graduated from the University of Georgia Law School in 1965 and began a career as an attorney, according to the Houston County Bar Association. He became a municipal court judge in Perry at 23.
In 1972 he won election to the state House of Representatives, taking the seat formerly held by Sam Nunn when Nunn was elected to the U.S. Senate. Walker later became the House floor leader for then-Gov. Joe Frank Harris.
Walker rose to House majority leader at a time when Democrats controlled the General Assembly. In 2003, he sought to become House speaker but lost to Rep. Terry Coleman.
In February 2004, he announced he would be stepping down as majority leader.
“I just think it’s time to quit,” Walker said at the time. “I’ve been in (the House) 32 years, and I want to go out when I’m on top. I’ve seen people who stayed too long, and I don’t want to be one of those.”
Walker later represented Georgia’s 8th Congressional District on the Georgia Department of Transportation and was appointed by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue to the University System of Georgia Board of Regents as an at-large member.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Staff writer Caleb Groves contributed to this story