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Captain Larry Walker Remembered By Friends in Oriental & Beyond.

From Jack Coulter:

He absolutely fell in love with the town and its people.
The two highlights in Larry’s life were the four years he spent serving honorably in the US Navy, serving aboard the USS Nashville: and being Santa Claus for the kids of Pamlico County. He absolutely loved seeing the Christmas magic in children’s eyes. We always joked with him that he had convinced himself he really was Santa!

He had a true passion for anything nautical and immersed himself in his complete knowledge of seamanship; He started his very successful Captains License School, Worldwide Marine Training 9 years ago. His first classroom was in the now current Errands Plus building, later moving to the expansive school on H’way 55. He taught his class in eight different locations in NC and numerous states throughout the U.S. Literally hundreds of mariners rec’d their captain’s license through Larry’s efforts.

Oriental lost a true treasure.

Marsha Shirk sent this:

Larry Walker was a frequent if not daily customer at M&M’s cafe while I was the owner. I never, ever saw him grumpy or mean spirited. He tried his best to help everyone have a happier disposition. He could talk to anyone and had a wealth of information about everything stored up in his head.

One of my favorite stories about Larry is that when he would be eating at the Cafe he often was mistaken for Santa Claus. It was a lot of fun watching the stir he would cause with the little
kids. If he was asked about being Santa, he would answer them with all sincerity that he wasn’t. “But”, he would say, “I am his cousin and we look a lot alike and I’ve got connections if you need me to tell him anything.”

The kids were always awed. So was I.

It sure wasn’t hard for him to fill that red suit. He definitely was a “ jolly old soul”.

From Don and Kathie Mau:

December 2007 was a tough time for our family. My son and his wife had separated and he and the children were spending the holidays at our house in Oriental.

It was Christmas Eve, the children were 2 and 4 years old……this was their first Christmas the family was not together…..and we were doing everything we could to make it a grand affair for them.

At about 8:00 p.m., after the children were in the pj’s and we were letting them wind down to prepare for bed, there was a knock at our front door.

The personal touch. Santa pays a personal visit to Don and Kathie Mau’s grandchildren on Christmas Eve 2007.(Photo from Mau Family Collection)

In walked Sandy Winfrey (who knew we had the kids and my son here) and said he had brought a visitor with him and wanted to be sure it was OK.

Standing outside my door, dressed in red and fur from his head to his toes…..with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face as large as the world! It was Santa….who on such a busy night, had taken the time to dress and visit at MY house.

The kids were mesmerized, and we were all so grateful for his visit.

Sometimes Santa doesn’t come by Coast Guard boat but in a friend’s Jeep. Larry Walker and Sandy Winfrey from Christmas Eve 2007 outside Don and Kathie Mau’s house. A very personal visit by Santa helped ease what could have been a trying Christmas. (Photo: Mau Family Collection)

Memories of things that Larry just did….no questions…he just did. Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus, in the hearts and minds of everyone in Oriental.

From Becky Ackiss:

Larry was very special to the community band. The times that we got him to serve as our announcer for our concerts, he actually thanked me for the opportunity and he never stopped telling me that Pamlico Community Band was his favorite band. When I turned around from the podium to bow during concerts, Larry was always on the front row smiling back at me and applauding.

Larry Walker in a performance at the opening hours of this July’s Croakerfest, dressed in a Navy work shirt. He served in the US Navy from 1969-1973.

In the fall of 2008, he came to the band concert so excited to tell us he’d obtained the original conductor’s score to the piece of music used at the dedication of the ‘USS Nashville,’ the ship he served on during his service. It had not been played since then and he wanted us to play it. I told him we would need parts written out for each of our individual instruments, so two years later, he managed to find one of his students at Worldwide Marine Training who was a conductor and who was able to write out all the parts on his computer. We were planning to perform the piece at our March 2011 concert and he was inviting all his Navy buddies to the concert. Only Larry would have worked so hard to make that happen. He was such a generous man. It wasn’t his beard and red suit that made Larry the real Santa Claus. It was his heart.

From Oklahoma City, the Reverend Dr. Jim Newby, senior minister of the Church of The Savior, sent this memory:

I have known Larry from the time he moved to Oriental in 1998…I met him at the bar at M and M’s. I purchased a home on Smith Creek the year before, and would find my way down to Oriental about 4 times per year.

As a minister, Larry and I hit it off immediately. He had a very inquisitive mind about things religious, or should I say spiritual, because Larry was not a typical church-going religious person. Larry had never met a minister who was comfortable having a beer with him, and who, like him, was open to all of the mysteries that surround things spiritual.

I was a friend of M. Scott Peck, the author of “The Road Less Traveled,” which Larry had read, as well as Deepak Chopra, who was a guest at my church in Minnesota. When Dr. Chopra and Rabbi Kushner (author of “When Bad Things Happen to Good People”) came to my church the same week, Larry came to visit. He loved the process of spiritual seeking and questioning, and really enjoyed the presentations by Chopra and Kushner. Just this past October Larry called me and we talked for about 2 hours concerning things spiritual…

He was always the first one I would called when I was planning a trip to Oriental, and he would always turn on the heat or air, and the lights in our home to await our arrival.

I just spoke with Larry on Thanksgiving Day as he made his way between stops at the homes of friends who had invited him over. Since we rented our home last summer, we were making plans to stay with him over New Year’s. Although we disagreed politically on many issues, I still loved the man, and will miss him dearly. The news of his death has been like a fist in my stomach, and I am not ashamed to say that I have shed many tears…

From Don Staub:

What a great guy. What a great loss.

There are optimistic, gregarious people…then there is Larry Walker. He was one of the reasons that people become so enamored with Oriental. “The people around here are so friendly,” is a common refrain one hears from visitors. Larry was the one leading the charge in friendliness.

If the Coast Guard boat comes down the parade route at the Spirit of Xmas, there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

Laurie Sampson, who taught sailing at Oriental’s Bow to Stern Youth Sailing School last summer, is now in the British Virgin Islands, and saw Larry on Tuesday of this week.

Two days ago I was sharing drinks on the beach at the Pirate’s Bight on Norman Island in the BVI with Larry. A cruising friend that I met in 2007 whose name is Johnny Walker joined us. Larry had a brother by the same name and they hit it off. It was delightful sharing stories and enjoying life together.

Larry Walker in June 2008 helping to dedicate the fleet of Optimists used in the Bow To Stern Youth Sailing program.

How tragic that two days later Larry’s life was over. I can report that he was having a wonderful time living life. We should all be so lucky. I know he will be missed. I am glad he was a brief part of my life. May he rest in peace.

From Mary Norman:

My parents have owned a house in Oriental for the past ten years. Capt. Larry was dear to my whole family. He and my father Gordon Pickett were sailing and boating buddies; he also taught my father in Captain’s License classes. He was Santa for 6-year-old nephew, every year of his life.

Captain Larry performs the ceremony at Mary and Rob Norman’s wedding this past May. ((Photo from Mary Norman)

Most importantly to me, he preformed the marriage ceremony for my husband and me on May 15, 2010. He was truly an extraordinarily giving man and a truly wonderful person. I cannot express the loss that I feel for this great man. My entire family mourns that loss of a dear friend. I have attached some of my wedding photos with Capt. Larry. Please feel free to share these photos and memories to honor this special man.

Paul Del Rio sent in these memories:

Captain Larry was more than just an acquaintance to all of us in our community. Having worked with him as one of his instructors at World Wide Marine Training for the last several years has been a real high point in my life. He was my mentor, teacher, coach and foremost, my friend. Larry has been the quintessential mariner in our maritime community of Oriental. His selfless dedication to maritime education and safe boating practices run deep within us all.

There was also a side of Larry that a few of his friends caught a glimpse of aside from his real life Santa persona. Larry could sing Elvis better than the King himself.. To hear; “Wise men say, only fools rush in…” made us all pay attention, and when he would sing “Can’t help Falling In Love With You” we all did. We will all miss you, Captain Larry.

More tributes to Larry Walker have been coming in…

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Posted Friday December 3, 2010 by Melinda Penkava