Talk:Richard Leroy Walters

A fact from Richard Leroy Walters appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 6 August 2009 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that Richard Leroy Walters, a homeless man who managed his money from the billiards room of a senior center in Phoenix, Arizona, converted to Catholicism on his deathbed and left $4 million to charity?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2009/August.

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Possible info

"According to Amiot, Walters split his $4 million estate between a number of nonprofit organizations, including NPR, Arizona's public television station, KAET, Family Life Radio and the Salvation Army. At Mission of Mercy..." at [1] blogish. Can anybody confirm this? Smallbones (talk) 16:28, 6 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Anon editing

3 IPs have edited this (probably the same editor from the same town) removing the "avowed atheist" sentence. I understand that this phrase, which is a quote, might be upsetting to some people, but since it is just a paraphrase of the source (one of the few sources available) I think it has to stay. The source says:

"Although Richard was an avowed atheist, Rita continued to be a spiritual witness to him. After he was diagnosed with terminal health issues, Rita led him through a spiritual conversion and a personal relationship with Christ. Shortly before his death, he was baptized into the Catholic Church and received Holy Communion."

If there is other information out there, this of course can be modified. Smallbones (talk) 14:26, 4 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Sentence as currently in article and source (p.2): "He was an "avowed atheist" but converted to Catholicism on his deathbed, with the aid of Belle.

"Rita Belle - Spiritual Witness and Healer" (PDF). Mercy Perspectives Arizona Mobile Clinic. Mission of Mercy. Winter/Spring 2008. p. 6. Retrieved July 27, 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Okay, but as things stands it reads, "Walters was not a religious man, and lived his adult life as a self-described 'atheist'" -- as if in scare quotes. Hughdbrown (talk) 17:22, 5 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]