A Standing Ovation

Many of you may remember Walter Witkowski from the evening programs at Meher Center. Every Friday, without fail, Walter would go up to the small podium, right under the Meeting Place stage and introduce the program for the night. He was tall, lively, whole-hearted and very enthusiastic. When he read a Baba quote at the end of a meeting, he read it with ultimate feeling, wearing his heart on his sleeve, as he always did. In these small, dedicated acts, it was clear that there was no other place he would rather be. And any member of the audience, old or new, could not miss this dear man’s love and faith for Meher Baba in action.

Walter passed away on September 1st, 2024 with his wife and daughter by his side and his granddaughter in his heart.

In the 1980s, Walter took on the volunteer role to be the master of ceremonies for the Friday night programs for over thirty years. He had an innocently humorous way of introducing the program; he would get his words mixed up sometimes, much to the amusement of the audience. This made for great memories. “One time he announced a Baba film called ‘Baba washing the feet of the lepers’ as ‘Baba washing the feet of the leopards.’ The audience just roared into a laughter, so much so that Wodin (a local artist) later did a painting called ‘Baba washing the feet of the leopards,’” shares Dennis McCabe, the Program Coordinator at the Center and a very close friend of Walter’s.

Dennis also remembers that over the twenty-five years that Bhau Kalchuri, one of Baba’s close mandali, visited the Center, Walter introduced almost each one of his talks. With Bhau’s prolificacy, it goes to show that Walter was present at hundreds of talks with utmost commitment.

Walter’s love could not be contained or limited to one role or function. Like a flower, he bloomed, and his love spread through other volunteer roles. He is remembered fondly for his loving community work with the Racepath community and Happy Club. He was also a loving greeter during his evening and overnight shifts where he touched the hearts of guests with his welcoming spirit and being fully present to serve.

Barbara Plews who was one of the original crew members that Walter worked with from the staff and later as a volunteer, remembers, “Walter joined the Center work force in those early years and covered many duties. His love for Meher Baba was like cement. His personality was that of a young seeker. He was always, and I mean always, generous and loving in his work and relationships. He had a purity about him, an innocence, an automatic trust in others. His spirit of fun, an acceptance of others – their idiosyncrasies, their foibles, their gifts, their bad attitudes, their mistakes, their joys, and a total acceptance of his own of all those things. I loved him very much.”

What Barbara calls innocence, I remember as exquisite simplicity. A virtue that many seekers ultimately strive for. I recall Walter running through the neighborhood, in his older years. A simple man of perseverance, faith and complete naturalness. If he saw you, he waved or paused, always acknowledging others with kindness.

Malcolm Clay, his close friend and co-worker who ran marathons with Walter in his younger days remembers, “He ran hard, he lived hard and he could really push himself. He always finished a race. Always. I will remember Walter as earnest, sincere, committed, warm, loving, loving and loving.”

Recently, at a memorial for Walter, Jeff Wolverton quoted Eruch Jessawala. Eruch said, “Live your life in a stage of this world to such an extent, that when you depart, Baba gives you a standing ovation.”

I can only imagine – Walter stepping off the stage as he often did with Baba’s name on his breath. Perhaps it is a Friday night, the audience gives him an ovation before they leave the program into the darkness of the night. But this time, there is more, his Beloved awaits him in the corner, with not just a standing ovation but with open arms.