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73-year-old still has plenty to offer

Hugh Walker is young at heart, but the former buyer for an aerospace and military contractor is afraid prospective employers can’t see past his age.<br><br><runtime:include slug=”la-fi-walker-580image”/><br>

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The only thing recruiters see when they get Hugh Walker's resume is his age. Or so it seems to the 73-year-old, who was laid off in June 2008 from his $70,000-a-year position as a senior buyer for a local aerospace and military contractor.

Walker, an Army veteran, calculates that he has sent out close to 200 resumes, with no success.

"The dates in the resume give away your age, so people don't even ask to see you," he said.

That's a shame, said Walker, who doesn't consider himself a typical septuagenarian. A longtime sailor, car racer and boogie boarder, he sports floppy hair and neon yellow shorts, and can text on his cellphone with the best of them. He also has a Rolodex full of aerospace contacts and vast reserves of knowledge accrued over 49 years in the business.

"I have the health of a 40-year-old, the energy of a 20-year-old and the experience of a lifetime," he said. "I won't be desperate if I can't find a job, but it'd be a hell of a waste of talent. Most young graduates have never even been inside a machine shop, but I could walk in and know what every part was."

Walker has exhausted his unemployment benefits. He now receives $3,000 a month from Social Security and has a retirement nest egg he can tap when needed.

He knows he's luckier than most. Still, he's feeling the loss of a sizeable paycheck. Walker now clips coupons, albeit reluctantly, and shops at thrift stores and Wal-Mart. He turned in his leased Volkswagen Rabbit early to save on payments and bought a 1962 Chevrolet Corvair that he is fixing up himself.

He can no longer afford to eat out at nice restaurants several times a week. He gave up his $19.95-a-month gym membership and instead stays active with gardening and frequent walks.

His biggest financial concern is for his young nephew and friends he's supported over the last decade, spending more than $100,000 on college tuition, loans and car payments.

"I still want to contribute," he said. "They are like my kids."

The toughest part of unemployment for Walker is the emotional strain.

"Many of my close friends were people that I worked with, all people I saw every day, people who loved me," he said. "That's a big loss. There's definitely some loneliness."

To keep busy, Walker does odd jobs such as painting and yard work for friends. He volunteers at an animal shelter. Still, he feels underused. His father, who passed away at age 90, worked almost to the end of his life, Walker said. Several other relatives have done the same.

So Walker keeps checking employment listings daily on Craigslist in the makeshift office he has set up in his kitchen.

"The family has a tradition of working on and on, of never giving up and quitting," he said. "It's the pioneer spirit. I'm used to working, and I don't want to be here every day."

tiffany.hsu@latimes.com


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