LAYTON, Utah — Behind every painting is a story, but this story all starts with young love.
Blaine and Vera Lavern Walker have been married for 68 years. As they head into year 69 in August, they said there isn’t really a secret to the perfect marriage.
They’ve called Davis County home for quite some time now. They’ve had five kids and more than a dozen grandkids.
“I love this woman. She is special to me, and we’ve had a good life together,” Blaine said.
But when you look up at the walls of their home, the picture frames are filled with a passion of their own.
“Well, I always wanted to paint, but always thought I couldn’t, just there’s no way,” Vera humbly said.
She’s pretty modest for an artist, so that’s why her husband brags about her.
“She’s the artist, and she started painting probably about 20 years ago. She’d paint pictures for our children, brothers, sisters, everybody else who asked. So I said, 'OK, it’s my turn for a picture,'” Blaine explained.
His request was a picture of an eagle. Little did he know, Vera was going to go above and beyond his expectations.
“I did study a lot of pictures,” Vera said. "Just little bits and pieces, little here little there, and I enjoyed it tremendously.”
She created the “Spirit of Freedom” more than 20 years ago. It’s a depiction of an Eagle blended into an American flag. Over the years, they’ve created prints of the picture and given them to several different people and organizations.
So, Blaine couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate America 250 than to show off his most prized possession.
In their front yard, four eagles are surrounding Blaine’s favorite eagle of all. With the help of his family, he created a monument with Vera’s painting for the holiday.
“I’ve always thought heavily of that picture and I just decided that I wanted to display it to all my neighborhood,” Blaine said.
It's an ode to America that doubles as a symbol of love.
“It’s really cool to see all the eagles and to think that our grandparents, my grandma, painted the picture,” one of their grandchildren said.
Sixty-eight years later, it’s no surprise these two are still creating something special.
