Mary Fong Walker is the founder of Mineral Nexus with her late husband, Jim Walker. It is a place for the mineral community to gather during Tucson show time. She is an avid collector of all things interesting: minerals, fossils, meteorites, plants, cacti, art, jewelry, and the list goes on. Right now, she is in the process of deaccessioning their personal collections. “Got too much stuff!” she says, and that is an understatement. She got into the mineral business when Jim told her, “Hope you like rocks,” on their first date. It’s all his fault. From there, she adventured with him, mineral collecting all over the southwest USA as well as overseas in Namibia, Burma, Europe, and other places.
Mineral Nexus is “a place for collectors, by collectors,” a unique concept in the mineral industry. Retired from Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), Mary holds a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Long Beach, and a Master of Business Administration from UCLA. Mary also serves as the president of the Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society and has been an active member for almost thirty years. Working with close friends in the industry, she helped with the deaccessioning and branding of Rock Currier’s collection after his death. That collection was brought to auction for a record $4.8 million in sales.
Having worked in the industry for many years, she has made a point of sharing information with other collectors. She has been a consultant on natural history — including minerals, fossils, gemstones, jewelry, artifacts, and meteorites — as well as a consultant on mineral collection disposition strategies for private collectors and institutions.
Mary was a former director of Nature and Science at Heritage Auctions, the largest American auction house and the third largest auction firm in the world. She was involved with the auction industry for twenty years as a consultant to Butterfield & Butterfield, Bonhams, Chait, and other auction houses. She was also a partner in the mineral business that exhibits at national and international geological conventions of geoscientists and professionals.