It’s weird to me now, looking back, realizing there was a time when Walky was actually called by his full last name, like, exclusively.  For a while only Joyce called him Walky.  (And, later, we learn, Billie.)  There was a purposeful ramp-up from being called Walkerton to being called Walky by everyone, constructed within the ongoing story.

These days, Walky’s just friggin’ Walky.