A week or two back I lost a friend. His name was Don Walker and he passed away on the 19th. He was born out in West Texas, Levelland or some place, and he was an only child. He married Barbara Stovall in 1955 and they had three kids, Debra, Don, and Susan. He grew up in West Texas and moved to Brownwood in 1962.

He owned several businesses and was a member of the Brownwood Bass Club. Don dedicated over forty years, well over forty years of his life, to youth sports including baseball, softball, and basketball. He coached over a thousand local athletes and was honored 2008 for his many years of service to the youth of Central Texas. That’s kind of the official word on Don.

To me, he was more than a coach. He was a friend, although we lined up on different sides of the ball, or however you want to say it. I coached baseball and Don Walker coached baseball. He didn’t win a tremendous amount, but he did it in a nice way. He did it in an honest way and he was a friend to everybody, even the ones – not me- that played like they couldn’t stand a loss. They couldn’t live in that world. Don held his head high. He would have a good team every once in a while. He would do anything for you, and I do mean anything.

I could go into personal stories here but I don’t want to. I just want to tell you that he was a good man, a real, real, good man and I for one will miss him.

Until next time, so long everybody.

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‘Out of the Box’ with Dallas Huston is published each Monday morning at BrownwoodNews.com. Dallas was the radio voice of the Brownwood Lions and Howard Payne Yellow Jackets for more than 55 years. He currently is Pastor of Center City Baptist Church and hosts a Men’s Bible Study in Brownwood on Monday evenings. Your comments are welcome at [email protected].