Christmas comes early for Santa in need

LOUISVILLE — He straps on the belt, tops it off with a hat and in that moment Walt Queen becomes Santa.

You can spot him just about anywhere throughout Kentuckiana, from the Bass Pro Shop in Clarksville to the Galt House in Louisville.

"So often, people say, 'Do you, are you ... do you play Santa?'" Queen said laughing.

Known to many in the area as "Santa Walt," he's provided childhood memories to thousands of believers for the last decade, but you'll have to look much further than that to understand why.

"You never get over it. There's always an empty place there," Queen said.

Queen's two daughters, ages 18 and 20, were headed home from work Aug. 10, 1989, when tragedy struck.

"When they entered Spaghetti Junction through hospital curve, a truck going northbound dropped a load of [junk] cars on the southbound lane. They took a direct hit," Queen said.

The crash killed three on impact, including a Louisville nurse and Queen's oldest daughters, Jill and Jacqueline Queen.

"After Jackie and Jill died, the first Christmas, we put our tree up and left it there for 10 years and the lights did not go out, not one time," Barbara Queen, Walt's wife, said.

Through grief and heartache came an idea that sparked Walt's imagination. And no doubt, the beard also played a part.

"That really was when my heart felt the calling to become a Santa," he said.

"I think the giving back has helped me with the loss," Queen said. "There's always more reward for giving than receiving and when I look into the eyes of the little children and see the joy and happiness I bring to them. It's such a blessing to me."

Lately, Santa Walt has run into health issues, taking time off from his job and fearing foreclosure because of it. His home has been in the family since the 1950s. It's where he met his wife as a student at Eastern High School, raised their four children and welcomed seven grandchildren.

"I don't like to share my misery with other people, but for some reason, I felt a compulsion to share with him," Queen said.

After hearing his story, Darrell Wimsatt, a co-worker decided to give back to the man who's given so much to others, creating a GoFundMe page in hopes of collecting $2,000 to help save Santa's house, the minimum needed to keep it.

"To me it would be like, almost the same feeling as losing our daughters. Because it's so much a part of us," Queen said.

Little did Queen know just how loved he was. Within two days, that account surged passed $5,000 and it continues to grow, spreading the magic of the holidays in the middle of June.

"Every gift was really an act of love. It was people showing their love for us," Queen said.

As of Tuesday evening, the account had raised more than $8,200.