Autumn Years Spring 2024

Find out more about Mary at her Instagram account: @marywalkerbaptiste www.instagram.com/marywalkerbaptiste

speech difficulties and small motor mus cle weakness, Lou was diagnosed in 2022 at Columbia University Hospital. He is monitored at Hackensack University Hospital through their ALS Clinic. He is currently stable enough that he could do a telehealth checkup instead of traveling to Hackensack. Lou’s other health chal lenge, atrial fibrillation, was initially treat ed at Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Brown’s Mill, New Jersey, when they were living in Ocean County. His heart care is now through The Valley Hospital System. (Learn more about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at www.als.org) Lou constantly displays a sense of humor despite his difficulty expressing himself. His feet swing gently, display ing brightly colored funky socks, red with Ritz cracker design. Their friends at Pine Shores gave them a great send off, with artists there making portraits of the couple. One painting done in pointillism, used bright, vibrantly colored dots—a fitting depiction of this lively duo, con nected side by side as resilient collabora tors in life. a

While their travels have been curtailed, their appetites are ro bust. At Christmas, they exchanged restaurant “coupons” for the year and are especially fond of Ernie’s Ice Cream in Mahwah during the summer season. They love to try new cuisines and note that accessibil ity is a new concern. Lou is still able to walk on his own but has a cane, which he prefers to carry (not use). They have a wheelchair in the car, as an option, and they used it at Legoland recently, when they traveled there with their granddaugh ter. They used scooters

Floating Butterflies, watercolor crystals with stencil.

in Disney World where they traveled with same little one and her parents. They also flew to Nantucket with Lou’s son and daughter-in-law. Although Tom died in 1997, Walker family gatherings are an important part of their social life. They are grateful for friends, both for mer and new, and their families. Sharing meals and movies with friends is a high light. They worship at The Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River, tak ing life as it comes—you might say, rolling with the times. Lou loved rock-n-roll and sways on the sofa when he talks about his favorite music. Mary prefers Broadway tunes, quiet piano music, current events on NPR and symphony music. They also are grateful for the amaz ing medical care available in the area. After early signs of ALS, including

an Oscar poll before and will be follow ing the March 10 gala in Hollywood. They “used to” travel several times a year, mostly to family and friends in California, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, Montana and North Dakota. On one two week road trip (New Jersey to Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, through Canada to Minnesota, Iowa and Ohio) they were able to stay at friends’ homes almost every night. Despite this full itinerary, there are two states neither of them have seen: Alabama and Alaska. They honeymooned in Bermuda and have enjoyed five river cruises in Europe. River tours in the United States do not hold much interest for Mary because she grew up in the Midwest and has traveled to most of the sites.

Versailles Grand-Mere, watercolor.

50 AUTUMN YEARS I SPRING 2024