For the past two days we have been in Tuba City, Arizona, a small town on the western side of the Navajo Indian Reservation not far from the Grand Canyon. We came to honor Jimmie (Zeke) Walters, who passed away earlier this week, and to support the family. Zeke was the grandson of Jimmie Preston, one of the legendary World War II Navajo Code Talkers. His great-grandfather was Scott Preston, a legendary Navajo medicine man and the first Vice-Chairman of the Navajo Nation. Brenda used to be married to Zeke’s uncle and is still considered family.
Zeke contracted Covid two years ago and it destroyed his lungs. As a consequence he relied on oxygen tanks for each breath until he passed away at home this week. I was struck with how, despite great hardship and poor living conditions, these warm and friendly people manage to make the best of difficult situations and are always there for each other. Our presence was very much appreciated and reinforced our strong bonds with the family.
Most memorable to us was attending the dinner celebrating Zeke’s life. We were surrounded by his extended family of about 40 people having dinner on the dirt driveway in front of his mother’s trailer. There were tears as well as laughter that continued throughout the evening in the hot desert night air. It served to remind me that even though you might have little material wealth, the most important currency we have is the love we have for one another.
