Ennis J Walton

Relatives and Friends are invited to a Homegoing Celebration of Life Service at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo, 695 Elmwood Ave. Buffalo, on Saturday August 12th @ 11:00 AM where a repass will follow after. E.J. (Ennis James) Walton joined the ancestors, leaving the earthly realm 5 February 2023 at home in Buffalo, NY in the company of family. E.J. was born to Dorothy and Ennis Walton in Fort Worth, Texas. The youngest of four siblings, he was raised by his mother, a widow, who broke gender barriers working as a barber. His mothers courage, faith, and community commitments were formative. He attended Trinity Valley School where he served as student body president, was a member of the golf, football, and basketball teams before going on to graduate from Williams College in 1986 and earn an M.B.A. at Harvard Business School. E.J.s professional life was varied and far ranging, a trajectory shaped by his tendency to be a pragmatic dreamer. After graduating from Williams College, he worked as a Research Associate in the Harvard Business School Entrepreneurial Management Group writing case studies for business courses. He went on to attend the business school, spending a summer fellowship working with the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative on plans to build affordable housing using the right of eminent domain. Following business school, he worked as a commercial lender, financing solid waste companies and developing a new type of credit facility to finance energy conservation. Deeply invested in community building, E.J. spent many volunteer hours assisting others with business plans, financial models, and offering production support for arts performances and exhibitions. Though an executive for much of his professional career, E.J. maintained life-long artistic practices evidenced in his culinary creations, sketching, painting, photography, and writing. A friend once commented that he was "An artist who miscast himself as a businessman." EJ painted in acrylics and watercolors and loved to sketch. He authored plays, wrote short stories, memoir, and fiction; he also worked behind the scenes in Boston, MA to produce Black Nativity -- the longest continuous performance of Langstan Hughes play interpreting the nativity story through the lens of Black culture. E.J.s commitments to community and history converged in interesting ways. For example, after his mothers funeral, he successfully blended his passion for community stabilization and entrepreneurial talents, founding a company to consolidate black-owned funeral homes. This was an expression of his interest in preserving the unique, cultural dimensions of Black funeral home services at a time when younger generations were choosing not to continue in their family-owned businesses. During his time in Virginia, E.J.s interest in Petersburg and Richmond Civil War history led him to secure a Getty grant for historic architectural preservation at Virginia Union University. Even in the latter part of his career, E.J.'s professional pursuits were always accompanied by his explicitly artistic sensibilities. His final initiatives focused on a major urban development project for the parcel 3 lot in Boston, MA. The $405 million project was expected to provide over 1,500 permanent jobs and be anchored by the National Center of Afro-American Artists, a Roxbury-based museum cultivating Black arts and artists. Simultaneously in Buffalo, NY, he served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation (BERC), a City Hall-based initiative to promote economic development. In this role he helped facilitate loans to small and minority businesses, as well as financing that revitalized aging properties like Market Arcade. E.J.s attention to detail and deep interest in everything he touched encompassed the best of professionalism and caring. These foci were evident in all he did, from work projects to daily life. Always eager for a great cup of coffee and the next culinary adventure, E.J. was a convincing spokesman in the world of finance but was uniquely at home around a kitchen table with friends and family debating sports or the day's issues. EJ's greatest love, among his many accomplishments and passions, was his family. A beloved husband and father, the joy he brought to just being 'daddy man' was infectious. His many cherished friendships were flavored with a similar zest most evident to those fortunate enough to witness his wry sense of humor and avid storytelling. To know him beyond his reserved demeanor was to glimpse his compassion for others, zeal for sports, fondness for art, and ongoing intellectual curiosity. Impacted by a catastrophic stroke in 2011 that took him out of the workforce, E.J. re-learned how to walk, taught himself to be a lefty, followed the world on his iPad, and never lost his appreciation for a good cup of coffee accompanied by debate. E.J.s deep appreciation of beauty, his belief in the power of possibility had profound power over all that he touched. He will be missed by his wife and daughters; his sister Rhonda Renee (Cloud) and brother-in-law Kemper (whose dates he used to attend as a boy); numerous nieces and nephews; and his many beloved friends. EJ was a pragmatic dreamer, a creator of the fantastic out of the sometimes mundane, and a devoted community member and friend. He loved nothing more than to stand around a kitchen cooking, find the next, greatest bakery, and share his excitement and enthusiasm with his many cherished friends. E.J. departed this earthly realm surrounded by his wife, Devonya, and daughters, Asher and Simone, right where he loved to be. Services Celebration of Life Saturday August 12, 2023 11:00 AM