'Hero' mayor remembered for decades of service

A few days before his death, Mayor Walker Reid presented Realtor Tom McPhaul with a key to the city.

Normally an honor bestowed by the Gastonia City Council, Reid did it in virtual secrecy, personally honoring McPhaul for his work in real estate restoring Gastonia's downtown. It was the fulfillment of a longtime promise to McPhaul, but the encounter was still a surprise.

"One of the fire vehicles came up and the fireman got out of the car and came into my office, which is downtown Gastonia. He said, 'Walker Reid would like to talk to you for a second. He's in the car,'" McPhaul said Monday. "I walked out of my office. … He says, 'I just want to present you the key to the city. I told you I wanted to do that. I just want to deliver on that.'"

This was typical of Reid, 66, who died Thursday, Nov. 30 after experiencing problems with his heart, said his brother, Duane Reid. His time as mayor was expected to end on Monday.

Duane Reid said he was not surprised by McPhaul's story about Walker.

"It just warms my heart, but that's my brother," he said.

"He's always lived his life saying, 'I want folks to give me my flowers while I can enjoy them. So, not only did he believe that, he believed in sharing that with other folks. So, I'm sure by presenting that key, in the back of his mind, he's thinking,'I want to give this person their flowers while they can enjoy them,'" Reid added. "That doesn't surprise me at all that he did something like that."

A native of Gastonia, Reid was a 1975 graduate of Hunter Huss High School, where he played football. He went on to attend Gaston College, studying fire science and technology.

After getting his degree, Reid became an assistant fire marshal in Mecklenburg County. He served 16 years on the Gastonia City Council and then in 2017, he was elected as Gastonia's mayor.

He lost the mayoral seat to Republican Richard Franks in November's election. Franks was sworn into office Monday.

Duane Reid said that Walker Reid became interested in local politics in the 1980s. Back then, Duane and Walker were part of a group of young, African-American men who grew up in Gastonia and wanted to make changes within the city while honoring the Highland Community, in which they were raised.

"And we needed representation. We needed new faces. And so we all convinced him to run, and the rest is history," Duane Reid said. "I mean, once he got in there and started making some things happen, he loved that he was making an impact."

A hometown hero

Jennie Stultz, Gastonia's mayor from 1999 to 2011, said that Reid actually encouraged her to run for office. Before she became mayor, she worked for the city of Gastonia, and Reid was on the City Council.

"When I was elected, he and I really worked together on a lot of the things that weren't the sexy things, weren't the real popular things," she said. "Affordable housing, helping the working poor, and building the image of the community. And of course, that was my whole campaign was city pride."

In 2000, Gastonia won the All-American City Award from the National Civic League. The award was a point of pride for both Reid and Stultz, who were pictured hugging in a widely shared photo after their win.

"It was total euphoria, not for ourselves, but to bring that award back to the community and be one of 10 cities that was recognized for not what government had done, but what the grassroots community had done to address critical issues," she said. "The whole board was about that. And I think that's the real bond that Walker and I had, was that we worked on the critical issues that affected the grassroots community."

While Stultz was in office, Reid played a critical role in establishing a Mayor's Youth Council, which involved high school students in the community in civic leadership, Stultz said.

"In 2001, I had an idea, as did Walker, about establishing a Mayor's Youth Council. And so we established it together, and the Youth Council was formed from the high schools that fit into Gastonia," she said. "He and I were … the parents of the youth council. So anything that they did, he and I were there. ... We did everything from march in parades, to serve the homeless, to do all kinds of service projects."Stultz said that Reid wanted to build pride in the Highland community.

"The reason Walker even decided to become involved in the local community was to protect his neighborhood and to build pride in his neighborhood. He was the greatest hero of the Highland community, I think, that ever existed," she said. "He was just a hero for the forgotten, and I think that's what he'll be known for, is that it wasn't always the flashy things. It was the hard, deep things, the things that reached into your soul that changed lives."

Gastonia City Councilwoman Donyel Barber said that Reid was instrumental in establishing the Highland School of Technology. He also helped keep the Erwin Center pool open, he was a strong supporter of senior housing in the Highland community, he helped found Highland's annual festival, and he had a hand in reopening Rankin Lake Park, which was closed for more than 20 years.

"That's another gem in our community that's definitely part of Walker Reid's legacy," Barber said.

Because of Reid's health problems, he wasn't present in person at Gastonia's most recent City Council meeting, but he watched the livestream of the meeting, during which he was honored. Duane Reid accepted a key to the city on his brother's behalf, and a park on South Marietta Street in Gastonia will be named after Reid.

"I'm just thankful that he was able to see and hear from all of us on council how much we valued him, how much we loved him, and how thankful we were to be able to serve with him, and to also share that we will be naming a park after him," Barber said.

A personal struggle

When Walker Reid began experiencing heart problems around two years ago, "we wanted him to slow down. He didn't want to slow down," Duane Reid said.

"But that's how much he loved the city. And even while he was hospitalized, I said on numerous occasions, 'Are you willing to die for your city?' Sad thing about it, he didn't say no. That's how much he loved the city," he said.

Despite his dedication to Gastonia, Stultz said Reid seemed at peace with losing the most recent election to Franks.

"I texted him the night of the election to tell him that I was sorry. And his response was, 'It is well with my soul,'" she said.

She said that in 2010, when Gastonia won the All-American City Award a second time, Gastonia city leaders walked into the ballroom singing "Lean on Me."

"And Walker was the one that was leading the singing," she said.

She visited Reid in the hospital shortly before his death. Reid by then couldn't speak, but a family member told Stultz that he could still hear.

"I told Walker in my final conversation, I said, 'All the way over here I kept singing, "Lean on me when you're not strong,"' and I said, 'I'll see you on the other side,'" she said.

"He died as mayor. The one thing that he wanted to be," she added.

Funeral arrangements

Public Viewing for Mayor Walker E. Reid, IIIPublic viewing for Reid will be Wednesday, Dec. 6 from 4-9 p.m. at Costner Funeral Home, 2425 W. Franklin Boulevard, Gastonia.

Another public viewing will be held on Thursday, Dec. 7 at First Assembly Church, 777 S. Myrtle School Road, Gastonia, from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

A funeral will be held at 1 p.m. at First Assembly Church.

Those wishing to honor Reid's legacy may donate to the Mayor Walker E. Reid III Scholarship through the Gaston College Foundation. To donate, call 704-922-2225.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: 'Hero' mayor remembered for decades of service