Walden, a Plant City native who spent decades working to help his hometown, passed away last week.
It’s hard to imagine what Plant City would be like today without Don Walden’s contributions.
Walden, a fifth-generation Plant Citian whose family roots in town can be traced back to the 1860s (and yes, this is the family that allegedly inspired the use of “Walden” in “Walden Lake”), spent decades pouring great effort and time into helping his hometown grow and thrive however he could. Even well into his late 80s and early 90s, Walden kept on working and kept on helping others.
Walden passed away on Jan. 18 at age 92.
Walden’s life of service began with 22 years of service to the United States. After graduating from Plant City High School and later Stetson University, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served from 1950 to 1972. His duties took him around the country and around the globe as well. That included two trips to Germany, one of which included his growing young family, two trips to Vietnam in the 1960s (at one point during the height of the Vietnam War) and a stint of nearly two years in South Korea.
Walden married his wife, Lois, in 1950 shortly after graduating from Stetson and the couple had two daughters, Selinda and Lee-Ann. Don and Lois were married for 58 years before her passing in 2008.
When he retired from the Army and came back to Plant City, Walden operated his late father’s orange grove and later got into the real estate business. He became president of Donco Realty, Inc. in the late 1970s and focused on commercial property development and sales for more than 40 years. Walden was also one of the founding organizers of the Plant State Bank, which was later acquired by Wachovia, in 1986.
But he was perhaps best known for what he chose to do with his time outside of work hours. Walden’s resumé in this area is impressive. He was a member and past president of the Plant City Kiwanis Club, past Chairman of the Board of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce and the Tampa Association of Realtors, the first chairman of the Plant City Community Redevelopment Agency and a member of Plant City Main Street, the Affordable Housing Commission, the Occupational License Equity Study Commission, the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Tampa, the Realtors Political Action Committee, the Plant City Board of Realtors, the Eastern Hillsborough Historical Society, Plant City Arts Council, Plant City Photo Archives & History Center and Plant City Entertainment. And when someone says Walden attended every city commission meeting, it’s not an exaggeration.
“I had the distinct privilege of meeting Don shortly after I announced in November 1991 that I planned to run for a city commission seat in 1992,” Marsha Passmore said. “He cared deeply about Plant City and wanted to hear my views and what I hoped to accomplish in that role. We became immediate friends and I was elected in June of that year. Don became a mentor to me, and in the six years that I served I went to him numerous times for advice or his thoughts on various issues. Don was a busy businessman, but he always took time to do what he could to make this city that we call home better.”
Walden was named Plant City’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year in 2018 and, with his trademark dry wit, quipped “Well, I guess I know now why I had to get a haircut and a shave.” The win was a long time coming for a man whose countless hours of civic service certainly warranted it, and there’s no doubt he belongs on that list of winners as an example for civic-minded residents present and future to follow.
“Truly, it couldn’t have gone to a more deserving guy,” 2017 Citizen of the Year Ed Verner said when presenting Walden with the 2018 award. “It’s kind of shocking to a great many people that he hadn’t already received it a decade or more ago.”
