Stories: John Hulme's memories of Elder William Walker
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| John Hulme's memories of Elder William Walker
Recently appointed General Authority - 2002
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(.... memories of Elder William Walker, by John Hulme ....)
I first met Elder Walker on Saturday, November 6, 1965, when he arrived in Fukuoka to replace my first companion, Elder Bart Howell, as Branch and District Leader.
I recall the occasion quite vividly. Only five weeks earlier, Elder John Bryant and I had arrived in the branch as brand new "greenies" and this was to be the day we witnessed our first Japanese wedding. Branch President Yoshizawa performed the ceremony (the bride was a member of the branch) and members and missionaries participated in the reception, mostly via musical numbers.
Afterward the bride and groom posed with well-wishers on the lawn between the chapel and the missionary quarters, a spot that would now be somewhere inside the new LDS Fukuoka Japan temple, I suppose.
I can still picture a group photo of the Fukuoka missionaries and the newlyweds that was taken that day, in which Elder Walker and Elder Peterson are grinning from ear-to-ear. So was the groom, which I was told was considered very non-traditional for a Japanese wedding photo. Even to this day I can't picture Elder Walker with any expression but that bright, happy smile.
That night I wrote in my journal, "Wow! This was certainly a busy day. This morning my new companion arrived (Elder Walker). He surely is a neat guy. I can tell already that he and I will get along very well...." The final words of that day's journal entry are "Elder Walker informed me of his determination to be in bed by 10 o'clock every night."
Entries for subsequent days are filled with name after name of people we met with and taught, and a note on November 23 that I had participated in eight cottage meetings that day.
Elder Walker was a conscientious and hard-working leader (in those days all of Kyushu was in the Fukuoka District), but I remember him best as a friend and patient instructor, who helped me through the many challenges of learning a language, a new culture, and the first missionary discussion in a peculiar & difficult tongue.
Exactly one month after Elder Walker arrived, December 6, I recorded that Sister Hodate Yoshiko was baptized, and on Christmas day 1965 I had the privilege of baptizing three young men, Aoki Katsuhiro, Nakamura Katsuyuki, and Noda Toshio, the first two of whom Elder Walker and I had taught.
Four weeks later my time with Elder Walker came to an end, as I was tranferred to Yanai, where I was the only Caucasian in town for the next five months, except for the local Catholic priest, who had already been there ten years. No doubt my time in Yanai, as well as the remainder of my mission, was directly influenced by the eleven weeks I spent under Elder Walker's tutelege.
On May 15, 1966, that influence was extended to the entire mission when he was called as an Assistant to President Adney Y. Komatsu, where he served for the last seven months of his mission.
After 35 years, I met Bill Walker again last October (2001) at the Centennial celebration, and he was just as solicitous as ever. And yes, he still wore that big, friendly smile I had remembered through the intervening years.
John Edward Hulme AK 10/65
224 Camino del Cerro
Los Gatos, CA 95032
408-356-7636
Served with:
Oct. 2, 1965 - Nov. 6, 1965 Barton J. Howell
Nov. 6, 1965 - Jan. 22, 1966 William R. Walker
Jan. 22, 1966 - Mar. 18, 1966 Richard J. Otake
Mar. 18, 1966 - June 26, 1966 Rikuo Toma
June 26, 1966 - July 2, 1966 Brent R. Budden
July 2, 1966 - Sep. 21, 1966 Robert S. DaBell
Sep. 21, 1966 - Nov. 1, 1966 Steven W. Booth
Nov. 1, 1966 - Nov. 25, 1966 G. Michael Gougler
Nov. 25, 1966 - Mar. 7, 1967 David E. Ushio
Mar. 7, 1967 - Apr. 15, 1967 Hyrum Mead, Jr.
Apr. 15, 1967 - Aug. 10, 1967 John T. Stott
Aug. 10, 1967 - Nov. 5, 1967 Conan P. Grames
Nov. 5, 1967 - Dec. 10, 1967 U. Thomas Jackson, (Now Deceased)
Dec. 10, 1967 - Mar. 4, 1968 Bruce D. Jones
Mar. 4, 1968 - Mar. 27, 1968 Heber S. Jacobsen
If you have had similiar experience's with Elder Walker write to me at:
John Edward Hulme and send a copy to the Webmaster at:
summers@webpipe.net, Webmaster
Family facts: Married Lorraine Shipley 31 May, 1969 in Idaho Falls Temple (we met at the home of Rob Millett, NFEM 66-68, during the one year I spent at BYU)
eight children, 4 sons and 4 daughters, 4 having served missions (Brazil Manaus, England Leeds, Dominican Republic Santiago, and Spain Madrid), all so far having attended BYU, with the sixth scheduled to enroll there Fall of 2002, leaving two high-schoolers still at home, 2 grandchildren at present, a granddaughter and a grandson.
Education: BS in Mathematics, AB in Japanese, MS in Computer Science, all from Stanford University
Work Experience: Software engineer, management consultant, corporate executive
Church service highlights: Young Men's advisor and Scout Leader, Elder's Quorum President, Seventy, Bishop's counselor, early morning seminary teacher, stake missionary, member of High Council, Bishop, nursery worker
Unusual interests: mathematical puzzles, politics, world travel, Russian language |
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