Lincoln D. Hurst: Religious studies

Lincoln D. Hurst, a core member of the religious studies department at UC Davis for many years, an American Bible scholar and religious and film historian, died from a sudden heart attack on Nov. 11. He was 62.

Hurst was an internationally recognized scholar and historian who published extensively on a wide variety of topics, including the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls and film.

He received a bachelor’s degree in history in from Trinity College in Illinois in 1969. He received a master’s of divinity in 1973 and a master’s of theology in 1976 from Princeton Theological Seminary.

In 1982, Hurst received a doctorate in philosophy from Oxford University. He began his UC Davis career in 1983, retiring in 2006.

Richard L. Walker: Veterinary medicine

Whether diagnosing complex animal diseases, teaching the intricacies of bacteriology or wielding a hammer to build homes for the needy, UC veterinary professor Richard Langan Walker Jr. was a dedicated scientist and kindhearted teacher and volunteer, recall friends and colleagues.

A memorial celebration is planned in January for Walker, 56, who died Dec. 1 in Bodega Bay at age 56. Authorities are investigating his death as a probable suicide.

Walker was one of the founding faculty members in the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, a veterinary diagnostic lab operated by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine for the state of California. At the lab, he studied infectious diseases that affect animals, especially livestock and poultry.

He received a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, in 1974. At UC Davis, he earned his doctor of veterinary medicine degree in 1980 and a comparative pathology degree in 1985.