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It's What She Scattered: Remembering Helen Robson Walton Tuesday, Apr 24, 2007 By Lana F. Flowers The Morning News BENTONVILLE - "It's not what you gather in life, it's what you scatter in life that tells the kind of life you have lived." That was a favorite saying of Helen Robson Walton, who friends and family said scattered friendship, goodwill and leadership to everyone she met. About 950 people attended Walton's funeral Monday at the First Presbyterian Church along Northeast "J" Street in Bentonville, where "Miss Helen," as she was called, last worshipped on Easter Sunday. The only clues that the funeral for the world's 29th richest person was taking place were the size of the crowd and the small cadre of reporters bunched near a side door. Mourners began arriving about two hours before the 1:30 p.m. service. The church's parking lot filled by 12:45 p.m. and a nearby field caught the overflow. Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe complimented the service and said that despite her wealth, Walton never was pretentious. "She treated everyone the same whether they were the president or someone she met on the street," he said. Third District Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, expressed similar sentiments. "I think the real wealth she had was leaving a loving family and so many friends that cared so much for her," he said. Walton's life was captured in family photos playing in a constant slideshow on either side of the sanctuary stage at the church. She morphed from a young, 20ish Helen Robson in fencing gear of white shorts and white shirt, to a young mother with a toddler on her lap; from a businessman's wife cutting the ribbon at the first Wal-Mart store to the smiling, graying lady with the bun and sparkling eyes. Walton's granddaughter, Carrie Walton Penner, daughter of Rob Walton, said the family gathered over the weekend to talk about "Grandma, and how she led her life." Helen Walton was a woman attached to small traditions, Penner said, like brushing her "long, long, long hair" exactly 100 strokes from root to end each day while a granddaughter watched. "I would sit in her bathroom and poke through her drawers and look at the jewelry and souvenirs she had collected on foreign trips," Penner said. "In those quiet and unhurried moments, I learned that the true treasures we gather are not shiny and colorful," but are the moments captured with people, Penner said. David Glass, former Wal-Mart chief executive officer and a Walton family friend, told about a trip to a housewares show in Chicago, where Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton was to be recognized. Glass flew with Helen and Sam Walton in an Aztec airplane to Chicago but couldn't find a hotel room. The Waltons had a room with two double beds and let Glass stay the night in one of them. "Helen had such a great reputation. I always said one day, I'd tell the story of a night she spent in a Chicago hotel room with two men and embellish it a little," Glass said. "But I never got anywhere with that." He described Walton as opinionated and one of the few people he knew who'd turn a corporate meeting into a place to lobby for "potty parity," giving women enough restrooms at events. "Miss Helen" also counseled young Wal-Mart managers' spouses on how to handle the difficulty of long hours and lonely nights, Glass said, when Wal-Mart brought those managers and their spouses to corporate meetings at the first of each year. "Helen talked of their sacrifices and how hard it was for her and Sam. People still bring up those meetings to me when I travel around the country today," Glass said. Walton's philosophy of making everyone a partner in the discount store business also swayed Sam Walton to offer, starting in 1971, a profit-sharing plan to give each Wal-Mart employee some company stock. Family life was not entirely dominated by business, said Helen Walton's granddaughter, Annie Walton, daughter of Jim Walton. "Grandmom insisted that they have one meal sitting down as a family every day, and Granddad always returned from the office in time for breakfast each day," Annie Walton said. Arthur F. Fogartie, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, said Walton was described as a loving family member, a national leader and an astute business partner. "She was, in all things first and foremost, a Christian," Fogartie said, who committed "rampant acts of kindness." "She never did anything to achieve recognition. She only saw someone who needed help. As long as she was able, she helped other people," Fogartie said. That included giving 60 scholarships to international students each year to each of three private Arkansas universities: John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Harding University in Searcy and the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville. Rick Niece, president of the University of the Ozarks, recalled when he was in his second year as president: Walton dropped by unannounced to do research at the campus library for a speech she was writing. "At her library. Named in honor of her parents. On the walk, I said a silent prayer: 'Dear God, whatever Mrs. Walton needs, please let it be in our library,'" Niece said. Staff chattered when Walton entered the library. Heads of international students, studying on Walton scholarships, popped out from behind library shelves and up from tables, Niece said. "For almost two hours, Mrs. Walton listened sincerely as each student told a life story. Several students came back with cameras," Niece said. The students got their memories and some had photos taken with their benefactor. "She loved every minute and she loved every hug," Niece said. The family, including daughter Alice and sons Jim and Rob, met friends and funeral attendees at the church's fellowship hall after the service, where cookies, lemonade and iced tea were served. "She would have done it for anybody else," said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber. A memorial service is scheduled today for Wal-Mart employees, Weber said. The Morning News' Don Dailey contributed to this report. |
