Sandy Walker, supporter of homeless vets, dies at 63
Photo by York Daily Record / Sunday News
In this file photo from 2008, Sandy Walker is pictured waving to someone passing outside his Veteran’s Thrift Store on South Pershing Avenue in York. Walker died Saturday morning.
Sandy Walker, known by many as “Mr. Sandy,” a Vietnam War veteran who dedicated his time after the military to helping homeless war veterans in York, died Saturday morning. His daughter Sandie said the cause was congestive heart failure.
About seven years ago, Walker opened Veteran’s Thrift Store in the city. The store employed homeless veterans until they had enough money to rent a room and continue on a path toward a permanent home. Veterans, and the York community, could also go inside and peruse items that had been donated — veterans got furniture and anything else for free.
Photo by York Daily Record / Sunday News
Sandy Walker
“Anyone who knows my dad, knows his work ethic,” Sandie Walker, 32, said on Saturday. “He had a heart of giving.”
Her father, who was 63 when he died, partnered with York’s Helping Hands for the Homeless. After veterans would work in his store, they would attend life-skills training. In a 2008 interview, shortly after the thrift store opened, Walker told the York Daily Record, “We need to make a difference in some of our veterans’ lives. They’ve paid their dues and none of them should be out the on street homeless.”
Susan Byrnes, a native of York County who founded the health education center that bears her name, met and became close with Walker through her volunteer work with veterans.
“He worked as hard as anyone I’ve ever seen,” Byrnes said. “He was absolutely committed to improving the lives of his veteran brothers and sisters.”
More recently, Walker, and a team of other volunteers, were working on opening a drop-in shelter for the homeless.
Volunteers have been cleaning out the building at 412 W. King St., which used to house York’s Helping Hand for the Homeless. After it closed, it was Walker’s idea to convert the space into a shelter. His idea was to provide an emergency shelter for homeless veterans, as well as a place for them to go wash their clothes and get a shower, Byrnes said.
“We will now be working even more fervently to make sure we open the shelter in his honor,” Byrnes said.
Over the last several months, Walker had been unable to work after he had suffered a heart attack, two aneurysms and a stroke, his daughter said. That led to Walker getting frustrated.
“He couldn’t do what he was used to doing,” Sandie Walker said. “He expressed that every day.”
Sandie Walker said she still wants to reopen the shelter, despite her father’s death.
“My goal was to get it open so my dad could see it,” she said. “That’s not going to happen.”
But, she continued, “his spirit is going to live on through the shelter.”
This article comes to us through a partnership between the York Daily Record and WITF.
Sometimes, your mornings are just too busy to catch the news beyond a headline or two. Don’t worry. The Morning Agenda has got your back. Each weekday morning, host Tim Lambert will keep you informed, amused, enlightened and up-to-date on what’s happening in central Pennsylvania and the rest of this great commonwealth.
