In Memory - Dave Walks As Bear Davis
In Memory of our dear friend and good shipmate Dave Walks As Bear Davis - Colleen and I have been praying for Walks As Bear (WAB) since he got sick. Walks As Bear was an American treasure, spiritual mentor, and dear friend. We join his many loved ones in praying for his soul.
I have never met Walks As Bear face to face, yet he has become one of my dearest spiritual friends and closest Coast Guard shipmates. CWO Ed Kruska, USCGR(Retired) introduced us via email many years ago. I knew him only as Dave Walks As Bear; I did not even know until now that his last name was Davis.
As with many other of Walks As Bear's loved ones, we shared a multitude of experiences over the years. Walks As Bear was more than the prolific author of the Ely Stone series of novels (e.g., Lucifer's Wedge and Deceiver). He was much more than a radio personality. He was an oral historian, a spiritual leader. In his monthly syndicated column, The Bear's Den, he shared inspirational teachings and reminders. He interested readers through story telling (oral history of sorts) with emphasis on teaching about the American Indian experience (e.g., the Trail of Tears). Especially engaging was his unique capacity to recognize the parallels between American Indian heritage and Christianity. He even taught through the experiences of his own Mom, who went to Heaven in 2013.
WAB often emailed to his large circle of followers his prayer requests, sometimes for his own family when they were in dire need but usually for people he did not know yet had learned were in need of "whispers to the Creator."
I close with a quote from WAB's Prayer Request dated January 16, 2013 - "Ahneen everyone, I am requesting prayer for a Marty Taylor. I do not know her, but I feel that this lady is a uethi equi'wa (beautiful woman). This is because I do know her daughter and her son-in-law. They are fine two-leggeds, devout in worshiping the Master of Life and great in their deeds and prayer for others. These qualities are taught to us from an early age... from the mothers and fathers, eh. . . .So, it is that I ask on behalf of Marty Taylor, and her family, for your whispers for her, her husband and family. Prayer is the mightiest tool that we two-leggeds possess – it is true. And, the more of us using this implement... the better it will be for this [] keewa (wife) and neegah (mother). Much megwetch, Walks-As-Bear"
Mark Allen, USCGR(Retired)
