Good Neighbor Walter

Walter Hayes was the constant fixture in the little Mariasville (PA) borough where my family farmhouse sits. There is not much to Mariasville. The tiny village consists of homes along four roads ascending approximately 1/2 mile each, coming together at a crossroads atop a hill. The Hayes' home sat at the apex, across from our farmhouse. Walter was "king of the hill."

Last October, Walter died. My father was privileged to offer a eulogy. Dad recalls one of their conversations: "A couple of summers ago while we were on the subject, I asked him how he wanted to be remembered. After some prodding, he said he would like people to say, 'I was a good neighbor and that I loved my family.'"

Walter was honored with these sentiments posthumously because they were true of him while he lived. Again, my father recalled with poetic flair:

There was a certain man, from the State of Indiana, who purchased a farm house along Route 38 going down from Nickleville to Emlenton. One day in 1971, this man from Indiana decided to repair a leaking roof. He tied the ladder to the porch, climbed up with roll of tar paper, a bucket of pitch, hammer, nails, the tools and supplies needed to do a job that he had never done before. First the roll of roofing fell to the ground then the bucket of pitch followed by the tools. The man, who was afraid of heights, was paralyzed. His children came out, but they did not know what to do, His wife came out, and she could not help. But she called the Good Neighbor Walter who came over, climbed up the ladder, put his arms around the man, helped him get his feet on the ladder, and backed down the ladder with his arms around him. Through all these years, Good Neighbor Walter never mentioned the incident to me or to any one else.

I've singularly dubbed Walter as "king of the hill" because he was the best kind of king...a servant-king. Walter would've have winced at my moniker. That's okay. "Servant-King of the hill" simply fits his legacy. He truly was one who was a good neighbor and loved his family. He simply lived to serve others. And in so doing, helped me know the character of Jesus who said of Himself, "For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).

Who has helped you see Jesus by the way he or she served you?