Welcome

Welcome to the life and times of Woody Walker!  Woody left us to join his beloved Carlee on April 10, 2013. This website has been established by his family to share images and stories that capture key moments and memories of the life of this extraordinary man.

North Caldwell Magazine Tribute

Woody's Memorial Service: April 15, 2013

Byron's Eulogy from the memorial service

I am Byron Walker, Woody Walker’s son.  I would like to thank all of you for coming today to honor my father.  I know he would appreciate it, and we his family are gratified by your presence.

The Walker farm is located at the North West corner of Iowa.  It was virgin prairie in 1883 when it was transformed by my great grandfather into a productive source of corn, soy beans with modest numbers of cattle and pigs.  Elwood Carl Walker was born on that small farm in 1921.   One of three children he was the only boy.  Dad was educated in a one room schoolhouse.   He was also educated with the daily hard work of running a farm; early morning feeding of livestock, field work, and constant maintenance.  It was there he learned the lessons of the farm including a natural place to develop his mechanical talents.

Anita Johnson's Eulogy

Good Morning, What a privilege it is for me to say a few words about a truly remarkable man.

When I gave this eulogy some thought I realized that I knew Woody most of my life. Some people refer to Woody as "Mr. North Caldwell". I described him as “Grandpa Walton of North Caldwell”. Always there, always involved.

I remember crisp winter days at Walkers pond. As a young child I thought it was so cool to own your own pond. Woody was often there gathering wood or attending to the fire. I still have a skating badge somewhere. The Walker's were always so good natured about sharing their property with the community. Many people may not be aware of the fact that the Walker family not only lent their property to the town for recreation but paid for the insurance till 1982. That's amazing!

Ruth's remembrances

Good Morning, I am Ruth Mitchell, Byron’s wife, and this is Whitney Bernard, my daughter. Whitney and I are probably two of the few people in the Church who’ve known Mr. Walker for only about 15 years.

I know many found it odd or amusing that I called Mr. Walker, Mr. Walker. It has been my expression of my great respect for an elder. I was comfortable and he never seemed uncomfortable that I called him, Mr. Walker. And I was grateful for his acceptance of Whitney and me into the family.

Remembrances of Woody shared at the Memorial Service

From Joanne Kerbs Caramanica:

I am Joanne and I would like to talk about Uncle Woody. Going to Uncle Woody's and Aunt Carlee's house always seemed like an adventure to me. Although my home was only about an hour south east of Caldwell, 400 Mountain Avenue seemed like another world. First there was the smell of Uncle Woody's pipe tobacco that filed the air as soon as you walked in the door. It smelled exotic but how could that be since Uncle Woody came from Iowa?

Favorite Woody-isms

Words for everyday use
 
MAGUSILUM = Anything that gets slathered on.  Often grease, but not necessarily so. (Origin unknown, seems German).

OH GAWD = Something not good, but he will fix it.

OH FER GAWD’S SAKE =  Stupid comment or action by another outside immediate family and circle of friends. 

Your thoughts and remembrances

Thank you so much for visiting this site we've put together for Woody.  We invite you to add your own comments and remembrances: just click the "comments" link below this post, and you'll be able to read what others have written and add your own thoughts about this extraordinary man.  If for any reason you are unable to get your comments through (we've had to add filters to avoid spam, and sometimes they keep real people out, too) feel free to email your thoughts to woodenhue@gmail.com and we'll see that they make it onto the page.