L.B. “Bud” Walker died peacefully at home on Friday evening, January 27, 2017.

He was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan on April 17, 1925. From the age of 12 he was drawn to airplanes and his wish to learn how to fly led him to a life in the air. 

Over his career he earned licenses to operate (both VFR and IFR) single-engine and multi engine airplanes, seaplanes, and helicopters, and from there to acquire licenses to teach others to fly them, up to and including an airline transport pilot’s rating.  Among his military and civilian honors was the Orville and Wilbur Wright Award, given to him by the FAA in 2010.

Bud Walker flew thousands of hours in peacetime and also in combat during the Korean War.

A special joy at age 65 was his purchase of an aerobatic airplane, a Pitts Special, in which he entertained himself and those on the ground with his poetic and precise aerobatic maneuvers. He maintained the airplane largely himself and with close friends for twenty years.

In 1952 Bud married Joan Radcliffe. The romance began in Greece and lasted for 65 years.

Their children, Laurie Lysle Walker, Brian Browne Walker, and Julie Sands Donaldson, survive him. David Radcliffe Walker, their first son, died shortly after birth in 1955.

After his wife and family, the Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat, and his Pitts Special, Bud liked fast automobiles, swimming in cold water, and jazz music. He was an elegant drummer until very near the end of his life. He had good friends, told good stories, supported the needy, and remained the beautiful person he was throughout and until the end of a long illness.

His kind and generous spirit and faith in God lives on in his deeds and in the memories of those who knew and loved him.

A memorial service will be held at the Holloway Funeral Home in Oldsmar. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch in Safety Harbor.

It is

a signal honor when

the best man one has  ever known,

the best friend one has ever had, and

one’s own father are one and the

same man. I love you,

Papa, always and

forever.

person of tao

 

A man who

tiptoes can’t stand.

A man who straddles can’t

walk. A man who shows

off can’t shine.

 

A man

who justifies his

actions isn’t respected.

A man who boasts of his

achievements has no merit.

A man who brags will

not endure.

 

To a person

of tao, these things are

excess food and superfluous

behavior. Because nothing good

can come of them, he doesn’t

indulge in them.

 

from The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu,

Chapter 24

 

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The Spirit

of the Valley never dies:

it is called Mysterious-Female.

The gate of the Mysterious-Female

is called root of Heaven

and Earth.

 

This is the opening

that generates Heaven, Earth,

and humans; this is the hometown of Saints,

Buddhas, and Immortals. You arrange the furnace

and set up the tripod here; you collect the Medicine and

refine it here; you coagulate the Elixir here; and you

deliver it here. Being is here, Non-Being is here.

The beginning and the end of all

operation are here.

 

This Opening

is the place where the four

elements do not stick: it is in the realm

of Empty Non-Being, “silent and still.” Neither can

you find it by using your intention, nor can you guard it by

not using your mind. If those who cultivate themselves want to

find this One Opening, they must begin by looking for it.

Only when they truly know it and clearly see it, they

can begin to collect the treasure of Heaven.

Those who not know this Opening may

strive in one thousand different ways

and toil in ten thousand different

manners, but they will never

see any progress or

improvement.

 

How could students

not strive? How could they not

exert their minds to inquire

into the principles?

 

Liu Yiming

 

shaun tan

 

True joy is

experienced by those who

are strong within and

gentle without.

 
The hexagram Tui teaches us how to come into possession of joy. In our search for success and happiness we are prone to think that we must take aggressive actions to achieve them. The instruction of the I Ching is just the opposite: only those who practice innocence, acceptance, and detachment inherit true joy in this world.

We often see around us how forcible effort brings about what appears to be progress. Our egos tempt us to believe that these gains are lasting and valuable, but the truth is otherwise. Whatever is won by the desirous, ambitious, demanding manipulations of the ego will soon be lost. Others can always be temporarily browbeaten into doing things our way, but only hearts won by friendliness and sincere goodwill are true over time.

The I Ching teaches us again and again that joy and success cannot be forced or stolen. They are achieved gradually—but steadily—by those who relate correctly to others and to the Higher Power. To relate correctly means to steadfastly practice innocence, detachment, acceptance, modesty, and gentleness. Life is full of shortcuts, but this is the only route that leads to true joy.

The image of the hexagram is that of two lakes joined together to keep from drying up. It is an encouragement to us to join with like-minded friends now in the discussion and contemplation of higher things. If we engage in an ongoing conversation about proper principles with our friends, our relationship to truth is steady and our ego cannot seduce us into the doubt, fear, and anxiety that lead away from joy.

In your heart, be firm in holding to what is good and honest and correct. In your thoughts and actions, be gentle and accepting. Those who persevere on this path will meet with true joy and lasting success.
 

from The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 58, Tui / The Joyous

 

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Calming

your mind, following

your breath, simplifying your life,

you reduce agitation and worry

with each passing

month.

 

When

genuine stillness

pervades your existence,

the subtle universe appears.

Then you can go anywhere you

like and give yourself

just what you

need.

 

Wei wu Wei Ching, Chapter 19

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