LIBERTY—City officials and residents are mourning the loss of Liberty City Councilman Walt McJunkin, who passed away on March 2 at his residence in Liberty.
“He was a great servant to the City of Liberty,” Liberty Mayor Michael Sheriff said. “He served on council off and on since the 1950s. He was very active in the community and very well liked. His service to the city was exemplary.”
Lavant Padgett, also a Liberty City Council Member, said McJunkin had a deep love for Liberty.
“He was a good, upstanding, honest guy with a great personality,” Padgett said. “He loved his church, he loved his family and he loved the City of Liberty.”
McJunkin was born at his family home in Ware Place, and was raised in Greenville.
McJunkin attended Welcome School and was later a scholarship athlete at Newberry College. He also played professional baseball in the Coastal Plain League where he was a player and player manager.
He retired from Kanawha Life Insurance Company. Walt served on Liberty City Council for 11 terms and was Mayor Pro Tem for two terms.
He was a long time member of East Side Baptist Church and the Liberty Lions Club. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, serving in the South Pacific Theatre.
“When we moved here in 1971 I met Walt McJunkin at church,” Padgett said. “It seems like I’ve known him all my life. He’s just that kind of person. He has been a super friend for more than 40 years.”
Padgett said he will be dearly missed.
“I don’t think you can find anybody that can say enough good about Walt McJunkin,” Padgett said. “He was a warrior. He fought for the things that he believed in. We absolutely lost an asset in Walt.”
Mayor Sheriff agreed.
“He will be greatly missed,” Sheriff said. “He leaves a hard seat to fill.”
McJunkin was 88.
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