For some reason, Walton asked me to join him playing guitar and singing "No Tears for Johnny" at the Coleytown 6th grade talent show. He patiently taught me the guitar part and harmony. Since then playing and singing folk-y music, and trying to do it really well, has been a most important part of my life, and I owe him a debt of gratitude for getting me started. Walton was one of the "most cool" kids throughout elementary school, but he didn't seem to care at all about being cool, was always kind, and incredibly good at anything he did. I'm glad to have known him.

Written by Jim Lo, 7/29/22: I was asked, "What is your favorite spot on the IWU campus?" For me it is the 'prayer loft' in the chapel-auditorium. It is a place where I gravitate to when I need to spend time in the presence of God, early in the morning. It is a special place where I have had to ask God, at different times, for peace, joy, comfort, guidance and clarity. This morning I was there asking God to comfort my heart. Walt sang in choir and a special high school singing group called "The Orphenians" with me. Walt was an amazing musician and actor. He was one I looked up to. News reached me that he had "suddenly" died. The older I get the more I recognize the brevity of life. As I sat in the "Lo Loft" this morning, I cried out to God . An overwhelming presence of God's comfort surrounded me. The following words, from a poem I first heard long ago, came to my mind: Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

I was asked, "What is your favorite spot on the IWU campus?" For me it is the 'prayer loft' in the chapel-auditorium. It is a place where I gravitate to when I need to spend time in the presence of God, early in the morning. It is a special place where I have had to ask God, at different times, for peace, joy, comfort, guidance and clarity. This morning I was there asking God to comfort my heart. Walt sang in choir and a special high school singing group called "The Orphenians" with me. Walt was an amazing musician and actor. He was one I looked up to. News reached me that he had "suddenly" died. The older I get the more I recognize the brevity of life. As I sat in the "Lo Loft" this morning, I cried out to God. An overwhelming presence of God's comfort surrounded me. The following words, from a poem I first heard long ago, came to my mind: Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Our last set (Longshore Country Club circa 1970, Walton Amey, Greg Overton, Jim Henderson, Kevin Gralley): Nashville Cats, Mr. Spaceman, Wake Me Shake Me, Sunshine of Your Love, Fire, Foxy Lady, Manic Depression, Hey Joe, Rain, Drive My Car, A Day in the Life, The Crystal Ship, Nothin’ Yet, Summertime Blues, House of the Rising Sun

Written July 3, 2022. There are no words to aptly describe the sadness I feel in echoing Brian Keane's post about Walt Amey passing away in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 3. Many of you know from our recent FB posts that Brian and I went to Fire Island Friday to spend the holiday weekend with friends of more than 50 years, including Walt and his longtime partner Elizabeth. Saturday was a day filled with everything Walt loved: Spending time with people he loved who loved him back, incredible food, adult beverages, bocce ball on the beach, salty humor, watching Wimbledon, and hours of playing guitars and ukuleles and singing his favorite songs until 1:00 a.m. Within hours after that he was gone. As Brian mentioned, the cause is unknown at this time. In 1970 and 1971 Walt and I were in Choir and Orphenians together. As members of Staples Players, we shared the stage in Carnival, The Fantasticks! and The Time of Your Life during those same years. In a manner suited to Walt's wishes, we left the beach house and “walked him home” in New Orleans processional style, singing “When the Saints Go Marching In” accompanied by ukuleles, the women all singing and carrying umbrellas, all the way to the dock. Walt undoubtedly loved it. Walt will be missed by so many.

Some friends in life are so close, for so long, that they become part of your own history. My friend Walton Amey who grew up in my home town of Westport, CT is such a friend for me. A top athlete, a captain of the Coleytown Colts football team where we played together, a talented singer in the elite Orphenians choir in high school where we sang together (we were paid to sing in a church choir as well). We made mischief together, partied together, played in the same rock n roll band, and even served on community projects together. Walton was also a theatrical star in the Staples Players. After high school, Walt attended college in Ithaca, NY with me, along with David Barton and Linda Satin (also from the Staples Class of ’71). Walt and I were roommates in our freshman year (his mom described us as a “pig and a goat living together”). While in Ithaca, Walt and I played music professionally in coffeehouses and bars with our good friend, Stephen Schneider (a brilliant comedian who was our next door neighbor in our freshman college dorm). We were joined by our high school band drummer David Barton, who had transferred to Cornell from Antioch, and we wrote and recorded some memorable original songs together. Walt built on the success we had started in Ithaca after Stephen, David, and I left in 1975. He brought in the guitarist from our high school band, Jeff Dowd, and had a very popular band called “Desperado" with singer Carol Lee Goodgold. They recorded several records together, before Jeff Dowd left to begin his opera career in Germany. Walt continued playing music around the upstate New York area, and taught ballroom dancing at Cornell, developed a fondness for tennis, and lived a reclusive life in rural upstate New York for a time. In 1993, our former bandmate Stephen (“Schnitz”) decided to throw a surprise 40th birthday party in New York City for Tory Ruffalo, who had been in the same dorm with us freshman and sophomore year in Ithaca College. However, Schnitz surprised all of us by assembling many of us from our Hilliard Hall dorm, without telling any of us that the others were attending. From then on, the “Hilliard Hummers” as we derisively referred to ourselves, became an annual dinner event in New York (the one with the most miserable story didn’t have to pay for dinner). Eventually, that morphed into gathering for one weekend a year at a beach house in Fire Island that Schnitz had rented, and eventually purchased. Walton, David, Linda and I would get together most years with Schnitz and our fellow “Hilliard Hummers” Tory, Anita, Elizabeth, Hank, Jody and Don. It was a big chill weekend, no spouses, and we became like another family to each other over the years. Walton and fellow “Hummer” Elizabeth Schenck started what would be a wonderful relationship for both of them 14 years ago, living in Syracuse, NY where Elizabeth practices as a public defender attorney. Always a lot of fun, I would see Walt and Elizabeth every year at the Fire Island reunions and, starting in 2020, my partner Bonnie (who was in theatrical productions with Walton in high school) and I, started meeting Walt and Elizabeth, Schnitz and Anita, and fellow “Hummer” Hank Nelkin and his wife Yael on 4th of July weekends in addition to the reunion weekends. We gathered once again this past 4th of July for another weekend together. We played some games on the beach, watched some fireworks, had wonderful dinners, people drank, we played guitars and sang the songs we had written, the songs of our youth, and all kinds of fun songs in between. Schnitz had invited another great singer and friend of Anita’s and his, Deb Lyons, who joined us. We told jokes, and shared stories, and had a wonderful time. Walton, Stephen and I watched Wimbledon tennis matches past midnight after everyone else went to bed. Walton made Schnitz and I sing the perfect three part harmonies to some Crosby, Stills and Nash tunes, which we obliged him to get him to go to bed. Walton was in his bliss. Sometime after we went to bed at 1:00 AM, Walton got back up to get a snack or something. We still don’t know exactly what happened, but he was discovered at the bottom of the stairs at 2:15 AM. The EMS arrived ten strong right away, and were working on him from 2:30 AM, even getting a pulse back, but he lost that pulse on the way to the hospital. That very night before, we all had witnessed a spectacular sunset from the deck of the beach house (which had amazing views after having been lifted up in the air after hurricane Sandy), and I had remarked how lucky we were to be alive to witness this. Walt agreed, and expressed his gratitude also. When we got the official confirmation that Walton had died, we all knew that we had lost a dearest member of our family of friends, and an important part of our own lives. Our life history had been so intertwined. We spent the remainder of the day in a combination of shock, grief and "producer mode” dealing with things. We gave Walton the tribute that he had told Elizabeth that he wanted. We gave him a New Orleans style funeral procession on our way to the ferry this morning. Schnitz and I lead the procession and played “When the Saints Go Marching In” on ukuleles with Elizabeth, Anita, Bonnie, and Deb singing along, with umbrellas, walking in the sand as we made our way. At first, it was hard to keep from choking up. Then it transformed into something more joyful. It even got a little absurd as we passed a couple of Black families who looked at us like WTF? We just kept going to the ferry, and we all felt better by the time we got there. The crowd at the ferry appreciated it, too. In fact, Walton couldn’t have asked for much better a death than having spent the weekend doing exactly what he loved, with people that he loved, and who loved him, in one of his favorite places on earth, and then having it all end unexpectedly, and rather instantly as far as I can tell. Even though many of us will feel the pain, and the loss of Walton in our lives, we grieve for that which has been our heart’s delight. Walt made us all rich in life experience for simply having shared part of this glorious ride called life with him. He was part of what made our lives fun, and personal grief is mixed with a deep sense of gratitude for that. Walt Amey, February 1, 1953 - July 3, 2022. R.I.P. Walt is survived by his sister Margaret (Meg) Amey Smith of Des Moines, Iowa, his significant other, Elizabeth Schenck of Syracuse, New York, and the many of us who loved him and became like family with him.