Becky, Lisa & Wally
Wallace Babington aka Wally was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on 5 September 1926 and died on 9 May 2020 in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Up to a month before his passing, he was a resident of Washington, D.C. since 1958.
He was a father of four daughters, a Great Great Grandfather, a Methodist minister, a federal civil servant, a staff member of The President’s Committee on Mental Retardation, head of the Office of Deafness and Communicative Disorders, a classic film buff, an active theatre goer and lover of the arts. In retirement, he joined the board of The Weissberg Foundation, focusing on grants for small theatre groups in the DC area.
He had a generous spirit and a loving nature but disliked being teased about money and eating unsalted ,plain popcorn during a late afternoon movie. Except for tennis, he alsolutely hated watching sports on television and he would never share food with others at trendy small plate restaurants.
I met Wally in 2008 at a Holy Thursday supper at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Georgetown. We both loved to tell people that, “we met at church”. Out of the blue, he would call or text that he had an extra ticket for a theatre production and would I like to join him. I always said “yes”. We attended operas, musicals, plays and opening night cocktail parties. One time he asked me to join him for a Centenary College Alumni reunion/fund raiser. It was held at Fort Hunt Park, just north of Mount Vernon.
It was a typical hot and humid Saturday in late June. Because the parking was limited at the park, we had to take a three mile commuter bus ride from the Huntington Road Metro Station. Did I mention that it was hot and humid. The event was a Crayfish Boil.
The lobster is to L’Universite de Moncton. the boiled crab and Old bay is to the University of Maryland as Crayfish is too Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana. I’m not a big fan of all three..
The crayfish is Louisiana’s official state crustacean and they have been a staple of Cajun culture for hundreds of years. At least ten box trucks drove up from Louisiana loaded down with sacks of crayfish. Two picnic shelters were set up as kitchens. The cooks dumped the crayfish into large rectangular steam tables along with cajun seasonings, small red potatoes and corncobs. Andouille sausage was served on the side. The edible part is less than a shrimp. They are finger food, hence very messy. The heat, humidity and the seven heads on my plate with such cute eyes was all I could take. “Wally, that’s it, we are heading home”. We gulped our warm beer and walked to the waiting bus.
For forty years, Wally lived at River Park, a housing cooperative in DC’s southwest waterfront neighborhood with his wife, Rebecca (Becky) and daughter, Lisa. They lived in the townhouse just to the right of the left vaulted roof. River Park was designed by the renowned, mid century modern architect, Charles M. Godman.
This drawing is my salute to a great friend that I dearly miss. I plan one more tribute to Wally. It will be a celebration dinner at Galetoires in New Orleans. I will ask to be seated at the Babington table. There is no reason for anyone to understand that I will take a pass at Crayfish cakes, Crayfish Étouffée and Crayfish Bisque.