NEW ORLEANS — Next to the pictures, flowers, and candles at the growing memorial in front of Mandina’s restaurant in Mid-City, words describe Hilbert Walker III.
“Sweet, silly, fun, loving, hard-working, handsome, chivalrous, talented, and a smile so bright, it could light up the night,” a hand-painted sign said.
His father, Hilbert Walker Junior, told us his son was all that and then some.
“My kid was a real bright kid,” Walker, Jr. said. “He was real smart. He stayed on the honor roll and was very lovable with everyone he came in contact with. He made them smile.”
Last Friday night, his son was making his customers smile as he waited tables outside along Canal Street.
Suddenly, two assailants pulled up, got out of a car, targeted Walker, then shot and killed him.
Coach Derrick Henderson remembers Walker as a young boy from the Carrollton neighborhood who played sports after school at Harrell Playground.
“I was truly hurt because he was one of my favorites,” Henderson said. “He was my quarterback; he was my cornerback. He came to practice every day. So, that one kind of hit me here.”
Henderson says when Walker went on to Sophie B. Wright High School, he would come back to Harrell to work with neighborhood kids.
“He had a job, trying to better himself. You know, in our community that’s kind of rare,” Henderson said.
Working at Mandina’s was a family tradition for Walker.
“My momma worked there,” his father said. “I work there. My brothers work there. I have two other sons that work there.”
As family and friends prepare to say their final goodbyes, Coach Derrick is troubled by what he sees on the streets of New Orleans.
He says what happened to his former quarterback is an unfortunate lesson for today’s kids at Harrell Playground.
“Just be mindful of your company. Be mindful of your friends. Be mindful of the places you go because this can happen, just like that to any one of us,” Henderson said.
Coach Derrick said the Harrell community is planning a balloon release for Walker next week.
Funeral services are now set for this next Friday, May 12.