‘He had a good heart’: Family, friends mourn Swainsboro crash victims
SWAINSBORO, Ga. —
In Swainsboro, it doesn’t take long to find someone with a story about James Walker.
A presence felt across town
At Emanuel Medical Center, at Jesus Saves Church and across the community, people remembered Walker as the kind of man who made every room brighter. Friends and loved ones said the same was true for his son, Kencerio Walker — known to many as Deontae — and Nykeria Johnson.
All three died in a car crash Saturday night, leaving this small Georgia town grieving three lives that touched so many.
“When he walked in every day, it was like a ray of sunshine,” said Vickie Renfroe, a nurse at Emanuel Medical Center. “He was always positive. He always had something nice to say.”
Walker’s impact stretched far beyond the hospital where he once worked. Shirlene Mosley, who works in environmental services, said he was “like a father figure to everybody.”
“This man had the whole hospital lit up,” Mosley said. “He just had a good heart about him.”
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Remembering Deontae
At Jesus Saves Church, Walker and his son were a familiar presence, often seated in the front row on Sundays. Ashley Roberson, a youth pastor at the church, said Deontae stood out as a quiet but powerful example to others.
“He was a leader, but he was a leader in the way that most people wouldn’t expect,” Roberson said. “He led by example.”
Richard Shirey, a friend, remembered James Walker as someone who would help anyone in need.
“He would do anything for anybody,” Shirey said.
Celebration turns to mourning
The loss has been especially painful because of how recent the community’s joyful memories still are. On Thursday night, Deontae and Johnson celebrated their graduation from Swainsboro High School. By Monday morning, classmates were holding a vigil in their memory.
Pastor Brad McKenzie said the tragedy was a painful reminder of how quickly life can change.
“You never know the last time you’re going to hug somebody,” McKenzie said, recalling seeing James Walker and Deontae at graduation just days earlier. “We got a picture and a hug.”
A town in grief
For many in Swainsboro, the grief is impossible to miss.
“You meet people like that and they come but once in a lifetime,” Renfroe said. “I’ve never had anybody come up here like Mr. James.”
In a town where their presence was felt everywhere, their absence now is too.
Three lights, gone far too soon.