Emma Weidenhamer

Public Speaking Eulogy

Mrs. Caporizzo

31 March 2009

Walt Disney was an amazing man. Just talking about him here, in front of all of

us, is amazing in itself. Walt Disney was a family, man, a working man, a respected,

beloved man. I am here today to talk about him, and I hope you all will listen well.

His movies were all well-written, and families treasured them. The kids loved

them, and they were fun for adults too. He had many talents, and a great family. In

the fall of 1918, I remember Walt distinctly telling me that he had enlisted in the

Red Cross, and his ambulance was covered with cartoons that he had drawn. I

laughed aloud, and when he showed me, I was dumbstruck. You should have seen

the thing! The ambulance was a work of art! A memento of Disney characters! It

was a beautiful, wonderful truck, and people on the street would stare and laugh

and smile as Walt drove past.

His marriage to Lillian Bounds was a day to remember! And when they had Diane

and Sharon, just being there for them was great. He was a great father to those two

girls, let me tell you. He was a wonderful dad, always going to family functions,

always getting to those functions on time.

I have a little story to tell now. Do you remember Steamboat Willie? That funny

little mouse? Well, let me tell you, do I remember him! And I am going to tell you

how Walt even devised to make his signature cartoon a mouse. A mouse with big

ears, red pants, and yellow shoes. This was back when Walt was just starting to

experiment in the cartooning and animation processes. Walt and I were walking
along the streets of Manhattan, and we were talking about Walt going into the

cartoon-making process. We were trying to come up with possible characters,

people or animals, and possible names that would fit them just right. What kind of

personalities would different animals have? What kind of person would be just right

for him? Well, Walt believed in ‘signs’ from above. I don’t really understand what

went on that day, how it affected him, but I do know how it affected just about

every little boy and girl, even adults. We were talking, and out of the blue, a mouse

just ran in front of Walt. He stopped, looked at the mouse, at me, and back at the

mouse again; and he did something I least would have expected- he started to

laugh. When I asked him why he was laughing, he said, “Don’t you see? A Mouse!

Why didn’t I think of it before! An animal with many personalities, many sides, many

characteristics, all fitting into a little creature like that! It’s genius!” I, of course,

didn’t understand why he was so excited. I mean, it was just a little mouse! Well,

the next day, we went to Walt’s house, and he started to draw a mouse with big

ears, red pants, and yellow shoes. Now it was my turn to laugh, as I said, “Now I see

it! It’s perfect!” Walt just grinned up at me and said, “I think I’ll call him Mickey.”

Getting to know him, to work with him, and to be close to him was a great

privilege. I hope you can all honor the name of Walt Disney.