James MagazineJames_July-August_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 81
eorgia lost a giant
in the passing at
the age of 84 of
Larry Walker Jr.,
a former longtime
Georgia House of
Representatives Majority Leader in
the days of another giant, Speaker
Tom Murphy.
Before I share the story of a
remarkable man who younger readers might not know as much about,
let me address one characteristic of
Larry’s that they will immediately
notice should they go to YouTube
and watch the magnificent body
of work “Reflections on Georgia
Politics,” produced by the Richard
B. Russell Library.
In Larry’s very extensive interview one notices immediately his
soft spoken and uniquely Southern
accent. But this is not your typical
male Southern accent. It is the
accent I used to hear from some of
the most educated, polished and
accomplished Georgians I ever
met. It’s one that generally can only
be found among certain individuals
in Middle or South Georgia. It’s melodic. Some would say exaggerated,
but not purposely so.
I finally, after many years in
the Georgia political and business
world, figured it out. It is an accent
that, quite unintentionally, says “I’m
not from Atlanta . . . and I’m a little
bit better than you.” Not that Larry
ever felt that way. But he was.
Consider the fact that Larry
Walker lived in the same county
(other than the first days of his
birth) all his life. He was married to
his college sweetheart Janice most
of his life. He was a “Double Dawg”
with a business and law degree
from UGA. He had a large and
successful family. He was kind, gracious and smart as a whip. Yes, I
think he was just “a little bit better”
than most of us. And thank goodness we have people like Larry to
look up to and remember.
He was first elected to the
Georgia House in 1972. And it was
some 20 years later that I came
to really know Larry when I was
elected to that same body. He was
Majority Leader long before I came
and after I retired.
It took no time at all to be his
friend. You quickly came to realize that this well-coiffed and very
dignified leader was a person with
a great sense of humor and a real
thirst for knowledge. Everyone,
and I do mean everyone in Georgia
government, respected Larry.
His service to his community
and state spanned virtually his
whole adult life. He was appointed
a Municipal Court Judge at age 24,
and he was off to the races.
Even after he left the House,
Larry served on the state Department of Transportation Board and
the University System Board of
Regents. He truly knew everything
a person could know about Georgia
politics and history.
I really got to know Larry after I
left the General Assembly, and here
is a story absolutely nobody knows,
other than the highly esteemed
Georgia attorney Chuck Byrd.
Larry, Chuck and I met with a
world-famous actress, whose name
I will not mention because I want
to respect her privacy. This person
knew the movie and television
business because she was Hollywood royalty. And, for the time
we knew her, she was nothing but
gracious and very hands on when
it came to our project.
We only had one little problem.
Our fictional script, centered around
a Gold Dome battle over changing
Georgia’s then-flag bearing Confederate emblems, became moot. Governors Roy Barnes and later Sonny
Perdue had far too tame transitions
compared to our developing screenplay with its marches, fights, bombs
. . . you know, everything you see on
the news these days!
But a much deeper friendship
was formed. And it continued into
the years when we first started this
magazine. I’ve written before the
history of InsiderAdvantage and
James but at this point it is worth a
quick revisit.
J U LY/AU GUST 2026
81
