Funeral services for Lawrence Edward Walker Sr. will be 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church with Father Joseph Chau Nguyen officiating.

Interment will follow at the Cedar Hill Cemetery under the direction of W. H. Jefferson Funeral Home. Visitation will be Wednesday at the funeral home from 6 to 7 p.m.

Mr. Lawrence Edward Walker Sr. was the only child born to the late Birda Lee Walker and the late Samuel Walker in Vicksburg on Dec. 7, 1942.

On Saturday evening, Sept. 28, 2019, after a brief but valiant fight against lung cancer, God sent His angels to guide Lawrence to his heavenly home.

Lawrence is preceded in death by his only sister Juanita Lovecraft of Detroit, Mich.

“Son,” as he was fondly called by his family and friends, attended St. Mary’s Catholic School until the eighth grade.

His family moved to Chicago, Ill., where he finished high school at Corpus Christi Catholic School in 1961.

At an early age, Son joined and was baptized at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Vicksburg.

Son was united in holy matrimony to Tommiezine Phelps on June 23, 1966.  They were happily married for 47 years until Tommiezine’s death in 2013. To this union, Tommie and Lawrence had two children Dannie Coleman and Lawrence Edward Walker Jr.

After graduating from high school Son briefly attended auto mechanic school before deciding to join the U.S. Army in May of 1962. While serving in the army he graduated in the top 10 percent of his Signal Corps school and stationed in Germany for two years before being honorably discharged in April of 1965.  

After leaving the Army, Son worked for the Chicago Transit Authority before relocating his family to Detroit, Mich. to start his career at Ford Motor Company in September 1968. At Ford, Son started as an assembly line worker. Through hard work and dedication he advanced to the position of manufacturing supervisor. Son also understood the importance of education and obtained his Associate Degree in Business from Wayne County Community College while working fulltime and taking care of his family.  

Before reaching his retirement from Ford in 1998, Son was laid off and relocated his family to Houston, Texas to pursue opportunities that would enable him to continue supporting his family. He worked in the oil industry and for METRO before being asked to return to his beloved Ford Motor Company.

Son and Tommie returned to Houston after Tommie suffered a stroke in 2001. No matter where Son lived, he always enjoyed fishing, his cars and most of all spending time with family and friends, especially his children and grandchildren.

Fond and loving memories will live eternally in the hearts of his devoted family. To mourn his passing, Son leaves a daughter, Dannie Denise Coleman (George) of Houston, Texas; a son, Lawrence Walker Jr. of Delaware, Ohio (Patricia); three grandchildren, Trey and Jessica Walker and Maia Coleman; one sister, Bernadine Phelps Rice of Sarasota, Fla. (Vincent); three brothers, Charles Everett Phelps and Barry Glenn Phelps, both of Vicksburg, Anthony Dewayne Minor of Jackson; one paternal aunt, Willie Mae “Trudy” Phelps Spencer of Madison, Mississippi; nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives; and a host of family friends (Phelps, Prater, Wiley, Straughter and Minor Family).