WilCo Commissioners Vote To Help Pay For Leander Vet's Funeral

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — It started as a vague agenda item in the Travis County Commissioners Court members' meeting packet: "Discuss, consider and take any necessary action to approve order for interment of deceased..." the item read in part as part of an action-filled agenda.

Details on the mysterious action item became clear on Tuesday, as commissioners voted to set aside money to cover funeral costs for a Leander military veteran with no known family members. An obituary on the Beck Funeral Home website offers more clues into the fallen veteran's life: Mark Lylke Walker, 58, who served as a submariner for the U.S. Navy.

Officials said his funeral will be paid for by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10427 of Leander and Beck Funeral Home, while Williamson County is contributing the standard $300 allotted for indigent burials.

“VFW Post 10427 is pleased to work with Williamson County to honor Mr. Walker’s service to our country,” Mitch Fuller, commander of VFW Post 10427, said in a prepared statement.

The announcement on the funeral home's website does justice to the man listed as an "unaccompanied veteran," a dramatic photo of a freight carrier dominating the page with a U.S. flag off to the corner.

In passing the measure to cover his burial costs, County Judge Bill Gravell invited members of the public to attend the upcoming funeral of this largely unknown veteran. “Anyone who passes away as an unattended veteran will be afforded the highest honor we can give," Gravell said. "I encourage all members of our community to pay their respects to this hero either through attending the ceremony or sending a note of condolence on the funeral home website."

That invite is reiterated on the funeral home's website: "Mr. Walker is an unaccompanied veteran, and the elected officials of Williamson County invite you, and all who have served our country, to attend the service to honor one of our fallen veterans."

Related story: Thousands Attend Central Texas Burial Of Unknown Air Force Airman

Funeral home officials expounded on his service to the nation while providing details on his upcoming burial service: "Mark proudly served as a submariner in the U.S. Navy and will be buried with honors at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen, Texas, on Thursday, September 26, 2019, at 11 a.m."

Funeral services will precede interment the same day at 9 am. at Beck Funeral Home in Cedar Park, 1700 E Whitestone Blvd.

While he may have been virtually alone in the latter days of his life, Walker likely won't be entering the hereafter without a proper send-off. Texans love their veterans, whether or not they ever made their acquaintance.

At the burial of another veteran named Walker in January, thousands attended to see him off after Texas State Veterans Cemetery officials in Central Texas invited people via Facebook to attend the burial ceremony for that other "unaccompanied veteran."

Residents heeded the call, with some 2,000 people showing up to honor the fallen veteran — all strangers to Joseph Walker, 72, a U.S. Air Force veteran who died alone. "We do NOT leave veterans behind," the social media invitation noted in a message that resonated powerfully with residents of Killeen, Texas — a town of some 130,000 residents some 70 miles north of Austin that's steeped in military history.

The younger Walker is likely due for his own, well-deserved farewell come Thursday. Thank you, Mark Lylke Walker of Leander, for your service. You are not forgotten.