Dressed in a dark blue suit, white shirt, and black tie with an American flag on my lapel, I arrived in Monrovia at 9:30 a.m. It was a bright sunny day; the temperature dropped a few degrees from that searing heat that had plagued us. 10 a.m. the hearse pulled up and two men took the coffin into the church surrounded by colorful flower arrangements, some tall and some small. Some residents hand-delivered flowers which I found a spot for.
Wondering why the pallbearer(s) didn’t bring the coffin in, I looked for a program. There it was: Pallbearer … Ralph Walker.
The church filled quickly as people looked for friends to sit next to. Unable to sit down, I went back to the lobby area to help alert people to sign in and get a program. A few people asked, “Do you work for the mortuary?”
Yvette and Sandra Alarcon wrote this down and passed it to me: “Lived in Monrovia from 1992-2005. Bob was a great man and Mayor. Very friendly to all people. Saw Bob one day at a grocery store and was very friendly to speak to us. Always smiling, warm and friendly. Soft but firm handshake. Bob will be truly missed by all.”
The music filled the church, “Grazing in the grass” by Hugh Masekela, a South African musician.
One of Bob’s favorite songs. What a flashback … I introduced Bob to Hugh Masekela at an event I was hosting back in Los Angeles.
Unable to recall much of the service, my eyes kept looking all around the church at the faces telling the story – Bob was larger than life.
The pastor made several attempts to stir the massive audience; the gathering was waiting to hear from Bob, I thought.
Others spoke but they were caught up in emotions – fighting to say the words in their hearts.
Supervisor Mike Antonovich did get a response when he said that the Gold line Maintenance Yard would be named after Bob and a plaque would be placed in the Gold Line station.
Time to put on the white gloves and escort the coffin out of the church. It felt like a very long walk as tearful eyes made contact with my eyes. The great late poet Maya Angelou summed it all up about life: “I learned that people will forget what you said what you did, but will never forget how you made them feel.”
Bob had that IT factor – he could stir your body and soul in to action, no matter what the odds were.
-Ralph R Walker
October 26, 2015
