ST. PETERSBURG — With a mind like a steel trap, Mordecai Walker documented his remarkable life story and received his roses before closing his eyes in death on Sunday, August 17. He left the community with a treasure trove of historical accounts and a splendid example of how to live one’s life.
From almost being eaten by an alligator as a baby to diversifying his portfolio at age 13 by buying land, to meeting First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and serving in the Pacific during World War II, there was little that Mr. Walker had not done in a life that spanned more than a century.
Born on July 4, 1924, Mr. Walker grew up in Citrus Park, about 20 miles northeast of Tampa, where he attended segregated schools. By the time he was the ripe old age of six, he took his first paying job working on the farm of a prominent white family…