- Date Of Birth: June 9, 1931
- Date Of Death: April 26, 2022
- State: Texas
Prosper N. Walker, June 9, 1931 – April 26, 2022.
Belton, Texas – Prosper Walker went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, at the age of 90. Prosper was born in Moran, Texas, to Lloyd and Betty Walker. He attended Tarleton State Junior College before receiving an appointment to West Point where he graduated in 1954 as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army.
Prosper met the love of his life, Alice Wylie, at a swimming pool in Albany, Texas, where Alice was serving as a lifeguard. Prosper recalled hitting her with a tennis ball and it was love at first sight. Following a whirlwind romance, they were married on September 22, 1956, at Matthews Presbyterian Church in Albany, Texas, and started their married life in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Prosper was stationed and serving with the 82nd Airborne Division. Together, they had six children: Lloyd, Cynthia, Rebecca, Carrie, Julie and Sara, along with an untold number of cats, dogs, pigeons and the occasional hamster, raccoon, and, at one time, even a horse. During their marriage, they traveled the world with the U.S. military, including two tours to Vietnam, with Alice keeping the family together until Prosper returned. Alice and Prosper retired from the Army in 1977 and put down roots in Belton, Texas.
Much like his father before him, Prosper believed in the inherent goodness of people and felt a calling to serve Jesus Christ as a minister to His flock. In 1957, he resigned his commission in the Army in order to become a Primitive Baptist Lay Minister. But God had other plans and Prosper returned to Active Duty in June 1960 where he served his country with honor and distinction until his retirement in 1977.
He continued his service to others through his work at several construction equipment companies in the Central Texas area, in the community working with high school students aspiring to attend West Point and through involvement in local politics. His greatest achievement was ”… the realization that …Service is one of the most honorable callings that one can have because it embodies the concept of serving others through the scriptural teaching of loving ones’ brother as himself…it embraces a devotion to that concept to the extent that one is willing to lay down his life in the process.”
Prosper was preceded in death by Alice, his wife of 65 years, his parents, Lloyd and Lena Walker and three sisters, Ruth Baker, Mary Helen Roberts and Bettie Walker. He is survived by his sister, Patsy Reid and his six children: son Lloyd W. (Cheryl) Walker and daughters Cynthia J. (Gerald) Helmandollar, Rebecca R. (David) Wesson, Carrie N. (Tim) Steger, Julie L. Moran and Sara M. (Greg) Hebert, all residing in the Temple, Belton, Killeen area of Texas. He was known as Dada to his 14 grandchildren: Matthew, Bryan and Noah Walker, Elizabeth Chandler, Michael and Katelin Champion, Brady and Riley Wesson, Brynne Dunning, Maxie Steger, Ethan and Ryan Moran, Zachary Hebert and Rachel Abbott. Great-grandchildren currently stand at 22 with three more on the way.
