In 2005, the school choice movement lost one of its leading champions when John T. Walton, an heir to the Wal-Mart retailing fortune, died in a plane crash at age 58. Advocates of expanded educational options say Mr. Walton, more than anyone else, was the driving force behind the Walton Family Foundation's education work, and its focus on promoting school choice, from public charter schools to private school vouchers. Beyond his foundation work, Mr. Walton separately donated heavily to promote vouchers and charters, backing political action committees, candidates, and ballot initiatives. In 1998, he and New York financier Theodore J. Forstmann each contributed $50 million to launch the nonprofit Children's Scholarship Fund, which helps low-income families pay private school tuition.