Rest in Peace David Walker: Death of a Co-Worker at Catholic Online Faced with Faith

I ask for your prayers for the repose of the soul of David Walker and the comfort of the Lord for his children and extended family. I also ask for your prayers for David's co-workers at the National Headquarters in Bakersfield, California. They are in pain, grieving the loss of a good man who knew the Lord. 

BAKERSFIELD, CA (Catholic Online) - On Wednesday, November 30, 2011, one of Catholic Online's laborers in the Vineyard, David Walker, went home to the Lord. The tragic news hit his co-workers at the National Headquarters in California very hard. The editorial offices of the Network are on the East Coast, where I live, so I was the last to hear the news. Michael Galloway, the Founder and Publisher of Catholic Online held back tears when he called me: "Deacon Keith, David is dead. Can you please write something? We are devastated here. Most of the staff has gone home. He was so young..such a good man". He continued in a broken and somber voice, explaining to me that that David had been quite ill and his death came after a strong fight for life. "Please, pray for him and for us", he asked. Michael spoke of his personal concern for David's loved ones. He expressed his palpable grief - and understandable angst - that one so young would be taken. I consoled Michael by speaking those words of faith that we all need to hear at these times. As a Catholic Deacon I deal with death more than many people. Michael is a man of faith. However, it was clear, the loss had staggered him. David Walker was born on February 10, 1967. He started working for Catholic Online in 1997. He was an outstanding sales professional. However, due to a progressive and debilitating illness, his last day at the offices in Bakersfield was on October 12th of this year.  David was a single father who dearly loved his daughter and son. They are devastated by the loss of their Dad. I did not know David Walker well because I live on the East Coast and much of the editorial work is centered here. However, I came to know him as a man of genuine Christian faith. As an evangelical protestant believer working at an integrated Media Network called Catholic Online, David worked diligently in his efforts to understand Catholic beliefs and practices. He did so with joy and dedication. When I heard the shocking news from Michael, I immediately recalled David's zeal for the Lord. It was evident to me in the many teleconferences where I would address the Sales staff as they prepared for different campaigns which coincide with the liturgical seasons of the Catholic calendar. David loved the Lord Jesus Christ and wanted to understand his Catholic brothers and sisters. He was never without a question in those sessions! He worked so hard because he was a true sales professional. He knew one of the most important truths of effective sales; you must know your market to sell into it. As a protestant working for a Catholic Network he had to understand the groups of Catholics who desired to advertise on the Network.  He needed to know their language as well. However, I believe David's zeal came from a deeper place than his desire to be a good sales professional. I believe his continual questions came from his hunger to grow in his own relationship with the Lord. David discovered something profoundly important in an age which has all but forgotten God. He knew that the work of this Catholic Network was part of the calling we all share together as Christians in a new missionary age.

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David's questions about the Catholic faith were sincere. They provided an opportunity for me to give basic catechetical instruction to the whole staff. The experience helped us all to grow closer to our common Lord and Savior, through the Holy Spirit. I always suspected, David's questions came from a deeper place, a hungry heart. That heart revealed a man who seemed increasingly intrigued by the Catholic Church.   Let me share a few reactions to this tragic loss from David's co-workers at the Network's Headquarters in Bakersfield, California. Space does not permit sharing them all. Randy Guerre told me "I was absolutely shocked! He was far too young. It puts the treasure of life in prospective.  I worked with him for four years. He was kind of a serious type of guy, but when he smiled and laughed his joy filled up the room. I'll cherish the memories of our talks and humorous observations, and miss him dearly as my good friend and work buddy.  God Bless Him. " Makenna Alejandre told me, " David a neighbor, friend, coworker, you will be truly missed in our hearts you will remain a friend. When I heard the news - I started to flash back all of the positive meaningful times that everyone spent with you. Then I pictured you in white looking down. I know that your humble, kind spirit will always be remembered. You are a friend now - and for eternity. May your family and friends be blessed by your graceful spirit and may you always be remembered." Jennifer Wood recalled David's love for his grandfather and mother, "He loved his Grandpa and I learned that David had moved in with him in order to care for him in his declining years. When his Grandpa died a couple months ago, David remained professional, but there was slump in his shoulders and a sadness that would come over him like a gossamer veil. I would hear David on the phone occasionally comforting his mother in a voice that was so gentle and calming I could almost see his mother wrapping it around her. "

Sandy Galloway worked closely with David and grieves his loss. She spoke of David's faith and of his hard work ethic, "David will be missed by many of us. I had the opportunity to work with David and feel I am blessed for having that time with him. He was a true professional, always striving to do better, had a positive attitude and a yearning to learn something new. If he didn't know the answer to something he asked and dug in until he figured it out." Marsh Connolly, the newest addition to Catholic Online told me "I did not know David as well as I would have liked, I only had a few short weeks to work with him. Still, during that time, I came to appreciate his soft-spoken professionalism with clients. He was both professional and very expert at his job, something even a newcomer like me could tell. "Despite the overwhelming sense of loss I feel for his family and my coworkers, I know that David has merely undergone a transition to something far greater than what this life offers. We tend to think of death as a misfortune, but it is anything but for the faithful. I really hope his family and my coworkers come to understand this. He may not be working beside us, but he is certainly with us and with a loving Heavenly Father who ends all suffering, wipes away all tears, and whose wisdom and mercy assuages all grief. David is a fortunate man, and we are blessed by his example." I share this sad news with our readers around the globe to ask for your prayers for the repose of the soul of David Walker and the comfort of the Lord for his children and extended family. I also ask for your prayers for David's co-workers at the National Headquarters in Bakersfield, California. They are in pain, grieving the loss of a good man.  Nothing but God can satisfy the hunger in the human heart, that aching for meaning and purpose. No- thing can fill that hole, only "Some-One", the One who holds the future. Pascal wrote of this hole in the soul as a "God shaped vacuum". St. Augustine of Hippo expressed this universally experienced sentiment:" Our hearts are restless God until they rest in Thee". David Walker knew that "Some-One" whose name is Jesus Christ. Because of that, I know his death is not an end but, as the early Christians so often said, a "change of lodging".  The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth "Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" When we trust in the Lord, death loses its "sting" in our own lives as well. Paul wrote in that same letter: "But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: "Christ the first fruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. For he must reign - until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death."(1Corinthians 15:7-26) David Walker knew the Lord. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace, Amen. 

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