Rolling Fork mayor comforts town destroyed by tornado in dual role as funeral director

Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker is a well-known figure in his community, not only because of his political ties but because he is the town's funeral director.

It's a business he's been around most of his life, he said. He was raised by his grandparents, who ran the business for 45 years.

"My grandmother was a midwife, too," Walker said.

In that capacity, as well as in his role as mayor, Walker has been able to offer comfort to the people of his city, the hardest hit of the towns from Friday's deadly tornado that claimed 25 lives across the state. Another person died in Alabama after it whipped through Northeast Mississippi.

"They call me Butch here," Walker said. "The daughter of one of the victims called and told me, 'You're going to have to help me get through this, Butch.'"

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The devastation in Rolling Fork is seemingly insurmountable, but Walker is confident the city will be restored.

"It will just take time," he said. "The city of Rolling Fork will come back bigger and better than ever before.

"The soft-spoken mayor said even though he never thought he would see the day his town would be destroyed, he was ready to spring into action.

"My grandparents told me to always be prepared for the unexpected," he said.

About 80% to 85% of the homes in Rolling Fork had severe damage or were destroyed in the tornado. Residents are staying with family and friends for now, until temporary housing options can be made available.

"We want to make sure displaced families are being taken care of," Walker said. "That is being done. We are well on our way to bringing Rolling Fork back to the way it once was and make it even better."

Funerals for those killed in the tornado have not been scheduled yet, Walker said. Their identities have not been officially released. Walker's funeral home is helping four of Rolling Fork's victims who perished Friday.

Other funerals that were supposed to be held in Rolling Fork this weekend and in the coming days had to be postponed since there is still no electricity in much of the tornado-affected area. Part of the funeral home has roof damage and the windows were blown out, but the building is structurally sound.

"I don't know how we are going to work it out, but we are going to have to make arrangements to make it happen," Walker said.

Walker was one of the officials who addressed the media Sunday, standing alongside U.S. Rep Bennie Thompson and U.S. Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker of Mississippi.

Were you affected by the tornado? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com, follow her on Twitter @licibev or on Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Tornado-devastated Rolling Fork mayor is MS town's funeral director