LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — When you talk to people at Gainesway Park about Maurice Walker, there's one word you hear a lot.
"He embodied heart. He had a big heart," said his friend Tray Hughes.
Hughes said his friend used that heart for good. He brought Walker on to volunteer with the Police Athletic League. It's an organization that Hughes said he owes everything to.
"Very vital to their success. We say it all the time that this youth league saved us from idle time and getting into other things and being followers. It showed us how to lead. How to stay out of trouble. It taught us discipline, being on time, that, at the end of the day, nothing in life is going to be easy. You've got to fight hard," Hughes said.
For the last four years, Hughes said Walker made a difference like that for the kids in the park. For the last few years, though, he said Walker had experienced some health trouble.
"This last year or so, it kind of took a turn for the worse. He's a very private person, didn't let you know what was going on," Hughes said.
In fact, he said Walker fought through some of those challenges to keep coaching out here.
"It's just who he was, all heart. All heart. He did it with a smile. You would have never known," Hughes said.
Ultimately, though, those challenges finally became too much. Walker passed away yesterday at age 39. Thursday evening, Walker's friends and family gathered at that same park.
"When you die, you leave a legacy. This is his legacy out here. When you do right by people and you're a good-hearted soul, like he was, people come out and pay their respects like so," Hughes said.
Tthey said goodbye to their friend with that big heart in the most fitting way.
"That was his quote, 'Love is love', that was his way of saying 'Bye'. That's what he lived by. That's what he embodied. He was all love," Hughes said.
With a chorus of "Love is love", Walker's friends and family released a collection of red balloons into the sunset at Gainesway Park.
