Greenleaf Musings: John Walker, Brownwood’s Greatest Philanthropist

Written by Freda Day – John Allen Walker was born in Arkansas on 1862. His father was a lieutenant in the Confederate Army, serving with a unit from Northern Virginia. He was killed in the Battle of Antietam.

Walker attended both Baylor and Vanderbilt Universities, and although he received certificates of distinction, never graduated. He left school due to “eye weakness.”  In 1886, he married Mary Elizabeth Peacock, and in 1889 they had a daughter.

In 1894, he and a partner founded the Temple Grocery Company in Temple, Texas. In 1899, they purchased the Ramey-Smith Company in Brownwood, which was the first business in Brown County whose entire business was wholesaling goods. That business continued under the name Walker-Smith Company. They operated it until they died. At the time of Walker’s death in 1942, they had fifteen branches around west Texas and one in New Mexico. Their headquarters remained in Brownwood, along with a subsidiary canning plant.

Walker had many business interests over the years. He was the vice president of First National Bank in Brownwood, and of First National Bank in Ballinger.

In 1896, a small switchboard was installed in Brownwood, and lines to Goldthwaite, Ballinger, Coleman, Cisco, and Dublin were built. Another exchange provided local service in Goldthwaite, Coleman, and Ballinger. A merger of these exchanges in 1904 formed the West Texas Telephone Company, of which Walker was president for several years.

In 1916, Howard Payne College (HPC) was recognized by the State Department of Education, and became a member of the Texas Association of Colleges. Walker gave HPC its first endowment, with a gift of $30,000 in the 1920s. He served as a member of the HPC board for many years, as well as the boards of both Simmons University (now Hardin-Simmons) of Abilene and Baylor University of Waco. Through the course of his life, Walker contributed about $200,000 to HPC. In addition to this, he secretly assisted  financially countless individual students, widows, and orphans.

Walker and his wife were active members of First Baptist Church in Brownwood. Walker has a medallion on his grave stone saying he was a “member of the Sons of the American Revolution.”

Walker’s wife, Mary, died in 1936 at 73 years old. She was a vice-regent of the Texas Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She died in New York while visiting her daughter.

Walker was quiet and retiring by nature, and enjoyed strolling through the thriving city that he helped grow from a small pioneer town. Walker had not been in good health for some time when he died. He had been in his office on Monday as usual, but died in his sleep early Tuesday morning. John Allen Walker died on December 15, 1942 at the age of 80.

In his obituary in the Dallas Morning News, Walker was called “Brownwood’s greatest philanthropist” and it stated that he was reputedly Brownwood’s wealthiest citizen.

About Greenleaf Cemetery:

The Greenleaf Cemetery was established in 1868.  Greenleaf Fisk gave five acres to the town for a burial place, and two and one half acres each the Pecan Valley IOOF Lodge No. 236, October 26, 1883, and to the Brownwood Masonic Lodge No. 141 AF and AM, December 3, 1883, making a total of ten acres for burial purposes.  There has been four additions to the cemetery since then and now has over 18,000 burials.  A section was set aside in 1958 for members of the Catholic denomination.  The cemetery was named Round Mountain and later renamed Greenleaf.  The Brownwood Garden Club built the present entrance.  During 1918 they averaged about four burials a day due to the flu epidemic.  At this time they had four crews digging day and night.

The Greenleaf Cemetery Association was incorporated April 10, 1923  The Greenleaf Cemetery is a non-profit perpetual care cemetery.  Its governing body consists of five board members, elected by members of the Greenleaf Cemetery Association.  The cemetery is located off Highway 377 South (Brady Highway) across the railroad tracks within the city limits of Brownwood. If you would like to help preserve this important historical gem with a financial donation, please make a check payable to Keep Brownwood Beautiful and write “Greenleaf Project” on the memo line. Mail your check to:

Greenleaf Cemetery P.O.Box 455. Brownwood, Texas 76804-0455

Donations by credit card are also accepted by calling the cemetery office at (325) 646-6919.