PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Family members say 33-year-old Curtis Walton was a man of God who always tried to do the right thing, even from a young age.
“He will always be my hero he will always have that special place in my heart,” said Curtis’ sister, Cheryl Walton.
Portsmouth Police say Walton was walking on Columbia Street when he was shot and killed back in early April. Detectives believe it was an attempted armed robbery and Walton was an innocent man.
“As a child he grew up taking graffiti off of buildings without being asked to do so. I mean, he would just show up and say ‘hey I see graffiti.’ He had a pressure washer. He would show up at a building by himself [with] a water hose and they come in and find the building clean,” Curtis’ mother, Bonnie Walton, said.
Walton loved to run and garden, but he would mostly lend a helping hand to those who needed it most.
“It was all about what could he do. If it comes to his mind … he had to get on it and get it done. It wasn’t sit still and let’s think about it. If it was something of good of nature, of light, to help someone else, to grow someone else, to get back to someone else, then yes, he had to do it,” said Bonnie Walton.
That mentality of giving back stayed with him until he took his last breath.
While Walton may be gone, his mom and sister say he will always be in the hearts of those he touched along the way.
“He was more than a son, he was more than a brother; he was a friend, a mentor, a coworker. He was always for the underdog,” Bonnie Walton said.
To honor him, his family started the CW Student Empowerment Fund to help others when they feel there is no help.
“There’s still one more person that his legacy in life is going to live on in, and we’re hoping for generations to come. Not just today or when the case is solved, but when someone is down and out,” said Bonnie Walton.
Police have yet to make an arrest in the case, but said the drivers of two sedans, one black and another maroon, may have information.
If you know anything, contact police.
If you’re interested in donating to that empowerment fund, you can make contributions to 1209 Buoy Court, Suffolk, Va. 23435.