Robert Alander Walker, 95, a major pioneer in Christian journalism, died Saturday, March 1, in Carol Stream, Illinois. Walker, who published the first national story on evangelist Billy Graham, had Parkinson's disease and dementia since 2005.

Walker attended the University of Illinois and Wheaton College, where he came to Christ. He earned journalism degrees from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and returned to Wheaton, where he developed a journalism program and served as an associate professor from 1941 to 1951. During this time, he helped publish HIS, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's first magazine.

"Bob was a giant in our industry," said Doug Trouten, executive director of the Evangelical Press Association (EPA) trade group. "The Christian journalism world has grown significantly since those early days, but only because we stand on the shoulders of giants like Bob Walker."

Walker took over the national magazine Church School Promoter and renamed it Sunday in 1943. In 1948, ...

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