Grace Walker Legacy

Miss Grace Walker was a teacher in the Milford school system.  A graduate of the Elms College, she taught second grade at the Plains School.  A brief illness preceded her death at the young age of 30 on August 13, 1925.  Her funeral was largely attended, with Fr. Riordan, the pastor, as celebrant.  Fr. J. P. Donahue served as deacon with Fr. W. T. Leo as sub-deacon.  Solos were offered by J. J. Connors, J. F. Donovan, and Charles Frye.  The Milford Daily Journal made note on the article of August 17, 1925, that "There was a great profusion of floral and spiritual bouuets."  She was buried in the family lot in the Calvary section of Saint Mary's Cemetery with her mother (Elizabeth who died in 1900) and brother (Fr. Alfred who died in 1916) and her father's parents and siblings.

Having recently received a large bequest at the death of her uncle, her mother's brother, John Comba, a gift was given to the parish to provide for the execution of four exquisite marble statues to grace the sanctuary of the church.  They were carved of Carrara marble in Italy by an accomplished sculptor, having been ordered in October of 1925 and shipped to Milford the following May.  They were placed in the church by workmen from Francis G. Kerr.  On Sunday, May 30, 1926, they were blessed at a vesper service at which Fr. Riordan the pastor presided, assisted by the other priests assigned to the parish.  Fr. Thomas Bolan, pastor of Saint Anne’s Parish in Worcester preached.

Each statue stood on a pedestal of four feet in height, made from the same marble that the statues were carved from. There were four of them:  The Sacred Heart of Jesus, his Mother Mary, her husband Saint Joseph, and Saint Therese of Lisieux, known more popularly as the Little Flower.  The statues were placed inside the communion rail, on either side of the sanctuary.  Those of Our Lord and his Mother were in the center with Saint Joseph and Saint Therese nearer the walls at each end. 

The image of Christ as given by Grace in memory of her brother, Fr. Alfred Walker who was a young priest in Denver at the time of his death in 1916.  That of Our Lady was given in memory of Grace’s aunt and uncle, the late John F. Comba who died just a month before Grace in 1925 and his wife Helen Comba who died in 1918.  The one of Saint Joseph was in memory of the late Jeremiah and Catherine (Finn) Comba, Grace’s grandparents. And the statue of the Little Flower was in memory of Grace, the daughter of W. J. Walker and his wife Elizabeth.  The inscription on this statue lists the memorial as Elizabeth and Grace C. Walker.  Her mother died in 1900, when Grace was not yet five years old while her father William would survive his children until he joined them in 1935, almost ten years after Grace’s death at the age of seventy.  Each memorial was inscribed on the marble pedestal in gold leaf.  They are all buried in the Walker family lot, a stone’s throw from the Calvary group of the priests’ lot with William’s parents Robert and Mary and his four siblings, John who died at 25 years old in 1895, Sarah who died in 1872 at six years old, and Mary who was born and died in 1875 and Robert who was born and died in 1880.  William was a prominent business leader in Milford, running an insurance agency until shortly before his death.  

The news article in The Milford Daily Journal on September 29^th also relates that Miss Grace Walker also left a substantial bequest in the care of a bank in New York to provide for the education of men from the parish to study for the priesthood.  Her generosity touched the parish in many ways, in the magnificent statues of museum quality execution that graced the sanctuary for over fifty years, and have been positioned in the bell tower for the last forty, with the hope that the upcoming renovation will return them to the sanctuary to provide inspiration for generations to come.  In addition, her generosity has helped men to reach the altar of God as a priest and bring the sacraments to countless others as a result.  Her faith, and her generosity, in remembering and donating to her parish continues to live on.  We know what has happened for the last century, we can only anticipate what her generosity will do for the generations still to come.

In this photo from the parish's Centennial in 1948, the Grace Walker statues are visible near the front columns in the sanctuary.  A larger version is visible in the heading banner of this page.  The one of Our Lady is on the right, hidden near the door to the sacristy is that of Saint Joseph.  The statue of the Sacred Heart is visible behind the stairs to the pulpit on the left side of the sanctuary behind the bishop's throne.