Profile on Longevity – Edgar and Virgie Walker
It’s always interesting to read about other people’s lives – the many twists and turns that a life takes from start to finish. All the little details of a person’s life are what makes each of our life stories so unique. Edgar W. Walker was born in Meade County on June 8, 1919, the son of Millard and Betty (Hunt) Walker. Edgar had one sister named Orene. Millard Walker was a dairy farmer who also worked for Bell Telephone. The Walker farm was located off Hwy 1638, in the area where LG&E is now located. Fort Knox took over that land back in 1941, at which time Millard and Betty relocated to Hodgenville. In 1938, Edgar graduated from Ekron High School and was one of a graduating class of 18 students. In August 1941, he was drafted into the Army and remained in the military for almost four years. Three of those years he served in the South Pacific. Back then, he said, tours of duty were often much longer than they are today. Upon his return to Kentucky, Edgar returned to work at LG&E, where he had worked just prior to the draft. In 1945, he married Thelma Crawley of Louisville. They had two daughters – Valerie and Laura. Valerie Hewlett now lives in Brandenburg and Laura Walker in Louisville. The Walkers built a home in Muldraugh and lived there for quite a few years. Thelma raised the girls and also worked for awhile as a secretary at Valley High School and later for the commander general at Fort Knox. In 1970, at the age of 49, she died of acute leukemia. Virgie Brooks was born on Nov. 30, 1924, in Butler County, the middle daughter of Monroe and Martha Ellen (Lacefield) Brooks. Her sisters were Willodene and Velva. Monroe Walker worked in construction. Virgie completed two and a half years of high school but didn’t graduate. The Brooks family moved to Hardin County when Virgie was 16. In 1943, Virgie married Ben Doolin who was in the Army and later worked a civil service job. They had one son, Dale, who now lives in Radcliff. Eventually, the Doolins moved back to Butler County where Ben landscaped gardens and Virgie owned a beauty shop. When he was just 50 years old, Ben died of a heart attack. It wasn’t too long after the deaths of their spouses that Edgar and Virgie met. Charlie Coghill, who was married to Virgie’s sister Willodene (now deceased), worked for Edgar at LG&E, and he introduced Edgar and Virgie. All of their children were still relatively young when they married in November 1971, so a new family was formed. Virgie’s son Dale was 14. Edgar’s daughter Valerie was 14, and his youngest daughter Laura was just 9. The Walker family lived in a big house in Muldraugh until 1988, and then Edgar and Virgie decided to move to Rock Ridge Road in Brandenburg where Edgar had owned land for a number of years. Edgar served as general contractor of his home on Rock Ridge, same as he had for his house in Muldraugh. They raised cattle and hay on their 99-acre farm in Brandenburg for quite some time. “I miss having the cows,” said Virgie. Edgar retired from LG&E’s Muldraugh Compressor Station after working there for 45 years. Eventually, the Walkers found time to do a bit of traveling. They traveled out west a couple times and also spent some extended periods in Florida. Edgar says he has seen an awful lot of changes in Meade County over the years. “There are houses everywhere all over Meade County now and more apartment buildings,” said Edgar. He also noted the size of the graduating class at Meade County High School has increased greatly from what it once was. When asked about her thoughts on life after all of these years, Virgie responded with the following: “Life is not easy. You can have a wonderful life or a bad life. It’s what you make of it and you need to be satisfied with what you have. It’s also important to put the Lord first in all you do.” Edgar was pretty matter of fact with his answer when he replied, “Take it easy and slow and don’t get too upset about things.” That’s probably some pretty good advice from them both.
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By KAREN KENNEDY