My V.ery I.mportant P.erson - Henry P. Walker, Sr.

Eli and Sallie Mae Walker

On September 17, 1931, a little boy was born to Mr. Eli and Sallie Mae Walker.  His family couldn't pay the midwife, so his birth certificate wasn't registered until October 12th.  From that day on the baby boy of The Walker Family was Henry P. Walker. 

Henry's father having an entrepreneurial spirit became the owner of the local neighborhood grocery store. Lil Henry would stand outside to meet and greet all his father's patrons. Even though Lil Henry had a speech impediment, it didn't deter him from stuttering through his spill of  profound wisdom and advise.

Henry and Mildred Walker, Sr.

Henry would later go on to graduate high school, marry the poised Mildred Mitchell, become an amateur boxer, father six children, learn and teach the trade of brick masonry and later became a beloved  pastor. He might have been small in stature, but he had a Goliath capacity for success and persistence. 

I didn't meet Henry P. Walker, Sr. until 1978.

My mother presented me to him sometime after my birth.  Henry P. Walker, Sr. is my maternal grandfather and the only consistent father figure I've ever known.  My mother often reminisces about her father.  She reminds us of his humor and how he was always ready with sound advice. 

My grandparents' surprise 40th anniversary celebration

My grandfather was an intelligent business man, yet he was still a kid at heart.  While he was going blind from retinitis pigmentosa, he would pretend to step on us and hit us with is walking stick. I was once told when I was baby, after church services he would present me to the congregation and proclaim, "Let me show you what a granddaughter is suppose to look like!"

Standing outside one of his rental properties

Recently on his documented birthday, my three girls and I blew out candles and sang in his remembrance.  Like my mother, I told my children stories of Henry P. Walker, Sr.  

My grandfather left this physical realm November 4th,  1999.  He was completely blind and bedridden by this time.  The last time I saw him. I kissed him on the cheek, he mumbled something trying to open his mouth. I told my grandfather good bye and I went back to school.  A couple of days later, my mother called me, I hit my dorm room floor.  

Three years later after I gave birth to my first daughter, I saw my grandfather in a dream.  I was asleep in my mother's house in my old bedroom. My grandfather was hoovering over me.  He gave me his signature, perfect Colgate smile and whispered, "I'm proud of you and you'll be O.K."

Family Portrait 

My grandfather's full name was Henry Person Walker.  I've been told the middle name "Person" was also a mistake of the early midwife system.  Even though  my great-grandparents may have wanted the "P" to stand for Percy, "Person" was actually divine foresight.   

Henry Person Walker, Sr. was and still is a V.ery I.mportant P.erson in my life and he touched the lives of many! 

We must keep family histories and legacies alive for the next generation.  I try to share information with my children about Henry P. Walker, Sr. and other family members, so their memories can breathe and have life.  In doing this, I salute my heritage and cement ancestral pride in my children. 

We must remember the important Persons of our lives.  They may not be physically with us anymore, but their influence can live forever. We must speak life back into the stories of our passed and forgotten loved ones. 

I share the life stories of Henry P. Walker, Sr., so my children can look at family pictures of a man they never physically met and say in the present tense..."Hey Momma, that's Granddaddy!"

Henry Person Walker, Sr at 35 yrs. old