ATLANTA — Loved ones and friends gathered together Friday for the funeral of a longtime reporter and Channel 2 Action News executive.
Walt Elder was one of the first Black television reporters in Atlanta. He died last week at the age of 81.
Channel 2′s Bryan Mims was at the funeral in southwest Atlanta, where mourners shared memories of their time with Elder.
The service was held at the Murray Brothers Funeral Home, where family, friends and admirers came together to pay tribute and celebrate Elder’s life.
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He was a native of Atlanta who, more than 50 years ago, pursued a career in broadcast news.
It’s also where he made a name for himself, right in his hometown.
Through the 1960s and 1970s, Elder showed that, in essence, he was a storyteller.
Using microphones and cameras, Elder told Atlanta’s stories, right here on Channel 2 Action News.
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His pastor, Rufus Smith, shared his story in a eulogy.
“I remember him as a man who was loving, kind and worked hard,’ Smith said.
He remembers Elder as a pioneer, being one of the first Black television reporters in the city, serving as an inspiration to young Black journalists.
Then, he became the first WSB Director of Public Affairs.
“He paved the way for all of us to mature in the community,” Smith said during the eulogy.
A friend of the Elders, LaDoris Bias-Davis, said he was a good man, recalling how she never knew him as a journalist.
“I never got to know him as a broadcaster, and it as only a few years ago that I found out he was the man,” Bias-Davis said.
In addition to his service at Channel 2 Action News, Elder was a Morehouse College graduate and served his country in the U.S. Army.
He leaves behind his wife and fellow storyteller Gloria Elder, of the Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia, and his daughter Tiffany.
His family said that when he once met a news reporter, he said “That’s what I want to do,” and he did it well.
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