Walter John Wedgeworth Sr. was born on April 8, 1928 in Fort Worth, Texas to the late Armonia Whiting. He moved to Colorado Springs when he was 12 years old. He attended North Junior High and at the age of 14 years he moved to Denver where he attended Cole Junior High and then Manual High School. Walter’s mother, Armonia Whiting was the most influential person in his life. She was a strong, dedicated, and loving single mother that inspired him throughout his life.
Walter was well known for his athletic abilities. He lettered All State and City in football and track & field. After high school he played for the Gulf Oilers of Denver baseball team at the State and National level. One amazing unknown historic fact about Walter is that he broke the color barrier at the City Park Tennis Court by being the first African American to play there in the 1950’s. Since high school, Walter was involved as the historian with the “Loyal Friends Forever”, a social club of Manual High School graduates that meet once a month to plan activities to support the communities. He was also a member of the Masons, Shriners and Park Hill Lion’s Club.
Walter married his high school sweetheart, Castella Ellen Price on July 23, 1948 and they had six children. He worked as a civilian at Lowry Air Force Base for 36 years in the Civil Engineering area. It was at Lowry where he was first exposed to photography. He learned quickly on how to develop film to produce black and white photos. He enjoyed this so much that he converted a room in the basement of his home to develop film himself. And yes…, he took plenty of pictures of his children growing up and kept newspaper articles on their achievements.
As he increased his expertise in photographer, he became the Imperial Director of Photography for the Shriners. After retiring from Lowry Air Force Base in 1984, he first opened his own business in the Urban League building and then moved his shop to 1230 E. Colfax where he named it “Mr. W.W. Photo Studio and Gift Shop”. He has kept a copy of the check of his first sell to John L. Westbrook for $55 dated September 28, 1990. Walter sold T-shirts, jewelry, sorority & fraternity memorabilia, baseball/football caps, and many other items. He owned his business on Colfax for seven years and he had his own dark room to print all his photos. Walter has quite a collection of photo albums capturing family, community events and celebrities.
He became the main photographer for the City of Denver in the Five Points area. He was so well known that he covered several major events for the Masonic, Shriners, Debutante Balls, Welton Street baseball tournaments, the inauguration of Mayor Wellington E. Webb, Tiger Woods Golf Tournament (June 2000) and the Bill Pickett Rodeo to name a few.
Some of the distinguished awards and recognitions Walter has received are:
• 100 Men Who Cook – Bill Brown Distinguished Service Award (Nov. 29, 2014) for “Tireless Service to Youth Families & Communities”
• Colorado Association of Black Journalist – 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award – Master Photographer
• 3rd Annual Clyburn Village Living Senior Citizen Hall of Fame - Hands That Make A Difference”
• Appreciation Award - Scorpio Club, Inc. (Nov. 13, 1999)
• Denver City Council District 8 - Senior Award
• Imperial Council Certificate of Merit Deputy Photographer (June 5, 1994)
• Prince Hall Masonic – Master Mason
Walter went to church with his mother during his younger teenage years, but it wasn’t until February 20, 2019 that he received freely Jesus Christ into his life, at the age of 90 years old!
Walter departed this life and is in the presence of the Lord on August 10, 2019 in Denver, CO. He is preceded in death by his former wife Castella Ellen Wedgeworth; his parents, Joseph & Armonia Whiting; His aunts, Ruby Wedgeworth Proctor, Hattie Oma Wedgeworth, and Mary Wedgeworth Clayborn; granddaughter Candice Wedgeworth;