Pat Patrick’s book, Awakening the Dream Within, states, “In life, we leave our footprints wherever we travel, and we leave our fingerprints on every heart we touch.” On March 9, 1942, a man was born who would go on to leave his fingerprints on the lives of countless folks in and around Houston County. Attorney Larry Walker has been practicing law in Perry since 1965 and has served an amazing 16terms in the Georgia House of Representatives.

Foster Rhodes, a close friend of the Walker family, has known Larry for over 50 years. Foster was in the farm equipment business with Larry’s father for quite some time. “Physically Larry is just like his father, with a small stature, but he has a mighty big heart for others and has shown that throughout his career.”

Larry says that his childhood was an idyllic one. “I had two Christian parents who loved me and always wanted the best for me. Growing up in Perry had a huge impact on me; you were expected to act in a Christian way.”

When Larry was just 12 years old, his father started taking him to work. This is where Larry says the “seeds” of his ambition and amazing determination were first sown. “My father was much loved and highly respected in the community; a simple country boy who became successful in the feed and seed business. He also chaired the local schoolboard for 22 years, so I watched him and worked for him as well. I loved to listen to the older folks in town, and I learned a lot from them.”

Larry attended Perry High School, where he excelled at basketball and football. He married Janice, his high school sweetheart, in 1964. “Janice has been a great wife and mother, and I’m very blessed to have her in my life. She’s probably the most popular woman in Perry,” he says with a smile.

As for Janice, she says that she knew early on that her world would be intertwined with Larry’s. “We started dating in high school, and we both knew this (relationship) was what we wanted,” she recalls. “After graduating, I went to college in Milledgeville, and he attended school in Athens, which seemed so far away at the time. We saw each other on weekends, and we ultimately married when he was in law school. Larry has got a real streak of wit and he’s lots of fun. However, he can be very competitive, whether it’s a game of tennis or a board game, he’s out to win, and that’s how he is with anything he’s passionate about; I think that has fared well for him in his professional life.”

Larry attended the University of Georgia, earning his law degree, as well as a degree in Business Administration. “I’ve always loved history, particularly the history of the South,” he says. “I graduated from high school in 1960,and by 1965 I was back in Perry practicing law. I wasn’t all that smart, but I was persistent,” he says with a laugh. “We have good people, and I’m really proud of the things we’ve accomplished over the years.”

In 1966, Larry was appointed as Perry’s first Municipal Court Judge at just 24 years old. Nine years later, he was appointed the city’s Attorney. He and his brother, David, along with several fellow attorneys, would hold this position for the next 40 years before stepping down due to demands at his law firm.

Just six years later in 1972, Larry was elected to the Georgia General Assembly, taking the seat formerly occupied by Senator Sam Nunn, and served until January 10, 2005. When he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, he won a whopping 79% of the vote. While in the House, he served on the Judiciary Committee for32 years. He was ultimately elected to be House Majority Leader, where he would hold that position for 16 years. Larry was especially close to the House Speaker Tom Murphy, who called Larry “my right arm and a great Georgian.” Larry also served from 1999 through 2002 as Chairman of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, a nationwide organization of state legislative leaders.

Larry also served on the Georgia Department of Transportation Board from January 2007 through June 2009, representing Georgia’s Eighth Congressional District. In August of 2009, Larry was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to the University System of Georgia Board of Regents as an at-large member until he resigned at the end of 2017.

During his tenure in the House, Larry was instrumental in bringing the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agriculture Center to Perry in 1990, as well as Frito-Lay. “These changes helped to breathe new life into the Perry economy,” explains Foster Rhodes. “Perry needed this center in order for young people to be part of those shows. In fact, like their father, Larry’s children also became very involved in the livestock shows.”

After retiring from the State Legislature, Larry returned to his law practice full-time, and was elected to the Georgia Transportation Board, where he served for over two years. He was also appointed by Governor Sonny Purdue to the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, where he served for seven years.

In over half a century of practicing law as a solo and small firm attorney, Larry has always tried to epitomize the ideals of being a small town lawyer by combining personal service with big law firm resources. Larry, who still goes each day to his office, says he loves people and retains a Southern wit. “I gave a speech once to the Georgia Legislature about changing the flag. I wrote it myself. I told them on a sea of southern accents, mine is probably the most pronounced.”

For his efforts, in 2014 Larry was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Bar Association. The award recognized small firm attorneys who arewidely accepted by their peers as having “significant lifetime distinction.”

When he isn’t winning big cases in court (along with Chuck Byrd, Larry represented Georgia coach Ray Goff when he was fired), Larry loves writing and spending time at his farm. He wrote a quarterly article forJames Magazine, as well as for the Macon Telegraph. He’s also written two books, Tales from Georgia’s Gnat Line, a book about life in the South, and Life on the Gnat Line, a compilation of Larry’s widely read columns about family life, politics and everything Southern.

Larry Horsting handles most of the day-to-day operations of the Walkers’ 450-acre farm, which boasts four fishing ponds, 20 cows and rows of pecan trees as far as the eye can see. “Thankfully, there’s no intensive farming involved,” he says with a laugh. “When I retired from the telephone company after30 years, I started here at the Walkers’ farm. The Walkers are like family; for example, I’ve never had a boss or supervisor tell me that they love me, so the Walker family is very special to me.”

Although it’s great to look back, Janice says the future looks just as bright as the past. “We’ve had a great go of it, and hopefully we have many more years together. Larry and I have raised four wonderful children, and we now have a whole pile of grandchildren, so we’ve been blessed many times over.” Each of the couple’s four children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren all reside in the Perry area. Moreover, one of the couple’s children is State Senator.

For all of his personal and professional successes, Larry just seems to take things in stride. “Some things in life you need to take seriously, but most things are not worth worrying about in life,” he says. “Everyone is going to be faced with difficulties, so you have to roll with the punches. Janice and I both know that we have been really blessed, and we’re just happy to be still enjoying the ride.”