Walter VanHook

Walter C. VanHook NORFOLK - Walter Clarence VanHook, 88, of the 900 block of Mapole Ave., passed away Thursday, June 23, at the Palliative Care unit of the Sentara Leigh Hospital. Walter was born July 14, 1922 in Durham County, North Carolina. After attending "Rosenwald" elementary schools, he graduated from Little River High School in 1942. He enrolled in the Cortez Peters Business College in Washington, D.C., but, in January of 1943, Walter was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in France during World War II. At the end of the war, he returned to Durham and married the former Gladys Fowler. To this union two children were born. He attended North Carolina College for Negroes in Durham and graduated with a degree in commerce in 1949. He moved to Norfolk in the mid 1950s. He had a pioneering 30-year career as one of the first African-Americans to serve in the Norfolk Naval Air Base Accounting and Disbursing Office. After his retirement from civil service, Walter operated Classic Contracting Company and provided licensed home improvements in the Tidewater area. He was a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church and he was involved in numerous religious and civic groups, including the Men of Covenant, the Hampton Roads Alumni Chapter of North Carolina Central University and the Hampton Roads Committee of 200+ Men. During his retirement, he took special pride in taking daily walks to remove any trace of litter in his two-block section of Mapole Avenue. In performing this voluntary task, he made friends with almost all of his neighbors. He also used these walks to share the history of the neighborhood. In fact, some of the residents on his street referred to him as the "Mayor of Mapole Avenue." Through the pages of the New Journal and Guide, he keenly monitored the football and basketball seasons of the colleges in the CIAA, the MEAC and other conferences across the South. He could readily quote the names of coaches, players and the athletic exploits of these colleges during the past 50 years. He was very fond of the food and the service at the United House of Prayer Kitchen on the corner of Princess Ann Road and Church Street in Norfolk. He especially appreciated the attention that the staff of this restaurant offered to him and other customers on a daily basis. Walter is survived by his son, Otto W. VanHook, and his daughter, Harriette VanHook Davis, both of Durham, N.C. He has two grandchildren, Christopher Taylor of Rolesville, N.C., and Jessica Taylor Williams of Houston. He has three great-grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and other family and friends. The funeral for Walter Clarence VanHook will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 29, at Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, 8021 Stagville Road, Bahama, NC 27503 with the Rev. Dr. James W. Smith officiating. Holloway Memorial Funeral Home, 2502 NC Hwy. 55, Durham, NC 27713 has been entrusted with mortuary serviceswww.hollowaymemorial.com.