Helen R. Walton

Death really sucks even if you know without a doubt that someone has gone to Heaven. Famous death is even stranger because there is so many people looking into your personal world. I know we've had alot of death this week, but this is the first that really effected me. Mrs.Helen died of being old unlike the other major deaths of this week. Still it is odd how all of these are so public.
Helen R. Walton was such a giver. She is also a very funny woman. She was a great grandmother. Lynne Walton even said she was a good mother in law.
I had the occasion to meet and speak with her a few times. In high school, I had a car and my friends didn't so I also carried around the siblings of my friends at times. We had to take them over to the Walton house for a birthday party one day. Helen let us through the gate and greeted her young guests. We giggled and said good-bye just to be happy to leave the little brothers. The next time I was officially introduced to Mrs.Helen was when I went to a Luncheon to learn about Cottey. I mainly spoke to the alumnae and Alice Walton that afternoon, but she gave me a good old lady hug and prayed for my college decision. When I was working at the Children's Center that summer, she remembered me and wished me luck as she was touring through the center. The following January, I went to an evening meeting of the women who supported my college to report. After sharing about my Cottey experiences to that point, we closed the meeting with their traditional prayer or saying. Mrs. Helen called me back over to her car. She spoke with such love and again prayed for everything I was learning and experiencing. She truly believed God would guide me through the semester. This was the semester that I accepted my call from God to ministry. I only spoke with her one more time. After I graduated from Cottey, I went to a tea to say thank-you for supporting me through my time at Cottey.
I will always treasure the special times she had in my life. Even if she wasn't known all over for money, I know that I will keep her words in my heart.