Walter Barnett King

Mr. Walter Barnett King Sr, 97, a resident of Luverne, Alabama, passed away peacefully in his home while surrounded by his family on Monday, March 20th, 2023. Funeral services for Barnett will be held at 11 AM on Wednesday, March 22nd, from the Chapel of Turners Funeral Home with Rev. Brennan Peacock and Rev. Bobby Weeks officiating. Interment will follow in Luverne Emmaus Cemetery with Brother Clay Crum officiating and Turners Funeral Home of Luverne directing. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Wednesday from 9:30 to service time.

Barnett proudly served his country with the Merchant Marines, as well as the United States Army, and the Army National Guard. He then later went on to become a County Executive Director for the USDA from 1951 to his retirement in 1983. His reputation as a conservationist was highly respected and the accolades flowed in for him over the years. He entered the Tree Farm Program in 1982 and part of his land was designated a Certified Treasure Forest in 1983. In 1996, he and his wife Edna opened Fern Valley on their land, an 85-acre nature park open to children in order to teach them the same love and appreciation for all the land had to offer. From 1997 to 1998, Barnett was the president of the Alabama Association Soil and Water Conservation District and was awarded the Helene Mosley Treasure Forest Award in 1997. There was no greater honor in his opinion than to be a good steward of the land, from the wildlife to the vegetation.

His hard work was honored by the State of Alabama in 1999 when he was named the Tree Farmer of the Year, regionally in 2000 as the Southern Tree Farmer of the year, and nationally in 2002 when he was named the 2001 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year out of 66,000 eligible farmers. Barnett never let up on his dedication to what he saw as his life's calling. He was further honored as the Forest Conservationist of the Year in 2002 and received the 2003 National Arbor Day Good Steward Award. And, in 2016, he was inducted in the Hall of Fame for the Southeastern Region of the National Association of Conservation Districts. Few in this country could claim to leave behind such a wonderful legacy of conservation and good stewardship.

Barnett was one of the most plain-spoken and forthright men you will ever meet. Of course, you wouldn't make it as far in life as he did without being as strong-willed as he was, not too mention simply willing to put in the terribly hard work necessary to build the life he did for himself and his family. However, don't ask him for his opinion if you couldn't handle the blunt, honest truth! There was nothing he loved more than his country and his family and he was enormously proud of both. He enjoyed spending time with both his family and friends and he was known for his generous heart with others, especially the children who visited Fern Valley. He was honored for all of this by the Crenshaw County Chamber of Commerce in 2004 as the Citizen of the Year.

Finally, Barnett was quoted from one of his award ceremonies as telling the audience that "if you haven't done anything to make this earth a better place before you leave it, you might as well have never been here to begin with." No one can say that Barnett didn't make his world a better place through all of his dedication and hard work and we are all better for it.

Barnett was preceded in death by his first wife, Ramona Morgan King; infant daughters, Ramona Susan King and Laura King; grandson, Michael Brock Sims; parents, George Walter & Mary Brunson King; and siblings, J.D. King, Lois Osborne, Alice Cornett, Virginia Richburg, and Raphael King. He is survived by his loving wife of 34 years, Edna Broadway King; children, Alisa (Nick) Dawkins, Elaine (Alex) Adams, Walter (Donna) King, and Debbie (Mark) Cook; grandchildren, Sommer (Seth) Watson, Heather (Lew) Mitchell, Lauren (Stallion) Sasser, Christopher (Michelle) King, Courtney (Matt) Tassinari, Carly (Taylor) Buck, Cody Adams, Mason (Michelle) Cook, Ryan Cook, Matthew Bane, and Timothy Bane; and great-grandchildren, Jaylee Price, Jon Mixon Sims, Madaline Sims, Annaleigh Sasser, Sybie Watson, Jep Sasser, Charlotte King, Mason King, Emma Tassinari, Rynnley Bane, Hilly Mitchell, Miller Mitchell, and Manning Mitchell.

Active pallbearers will be Stallion Sasser, Seth Watson, Lew Mitchell, Alex Adams, Nick Dawkins, and Paul Nichols. Alex King will be an honorary pallbearer.

The family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to hospice nurses, Tonya Jarman and Renea Walker, as well as Angie Collins, and his caregivers, Jeanette Bozeman and Joanne Bennett.