A newspaperman invited the community to his daughter's baptism

By Tim Walters

During my sophomore year of high school, I began receiving literature for various colleges around the country. To me, it didn’t matter. I had a plan.

I was going to attend the University of Florida, get my journalism degree, then come home to work for the newspaper I grew up reading – FLORIDA TODAY. 

Everyone told me UF was incredibly hard to get into and that I should expand my options.

But I had faith that my good grades and test scores would be enough. Even as a teenager I let my decisions be guided by faith because I believed God would lead me where I needed to go. 

I only applied to one college. I was accepted.

In the Fall of 1995, I moved to Gainesville to attend UF, where I majored in journalism, earning my degree in May 2000.

At this time, FLORIDA TODAY generally didn’t hire journalists out of college. They liked to see some experience on the resume. So I took a job at a small newspaper in central Florida and began work just five days after graduating college.

After working two other newspaper jobs, FLORIDA TODAY came calling. Again, my faith paid off. 

Through the years, I’ve done some amazing work, including coverage of sports, space, news, features and so much more. I expanded my skillset by learning how to shoot photos and video, while also becoming proficient in video editing.

However, my favorite accomplishment would occur in 2014.

That was the year my daughter Isabella was born. And of course, I wrote about her in the newspaper. 

Sharing my faith in the newspaper 

A co-worker suggested I use my sense of humor to write a parenting column where I told funny stories while also showing that dads can be just as capable of parenting as moms.

In May 2014, “Daddy Duty” was born.

It started six weeks before my daughter’s birth and was so popular I kept it going for five years.

I used it as a way to not only discuss my parenting, but how faith drove how I parented. I aim to be the best dad I can be and to set an example for others to follow. My way of doing that is showing people with faith comes morals, and with morals comes the ability to do the right thing.

One time, I wrote a column about Isabella’s baptism and invited the community to come to it. 

To my surprise, the mass was packed, including dozens of non-parishioner readers who had taken my invitation to join us for this joyous occasion. 

Many told me they weren’t Catholic but just had to see my daughter baptized. I could see in their eyes how thankful they were that I had extended an open invite to the public.

Soon after, a young Catholics club asked me to speak at their monthly meeting because they saw it as brave that I would publicize my religion and my daughter in the newspaper.

I told them I didn’t see it as a problem and, quite frankly, I didn’t care if people didn’t like the fact that I discussed my religion out in the open. My life is mine, and I won’t be ashamed of it. I’m comfortable with who I am.

Then the diagnosis came 

I also wrote honestly and vulnerably about when doctors found a tumor on Isabella’s spine when she was only 2 years old. I shared photos online and kept readers updated on her condition.

The initial diagnosis left me shocked more than scared, but as soon as I wrapped my head around it, I went into confidence mode.

The tumor was basically found on accident, with doctors discovering it while looking at her for a different ailment, so that told me God wanted it to be found. Our medical crew was incredibly experienced and competent, so I just continued to tell my wife, my mother and my in-laws that everything would be OK.

Inside I was shaken, but my belief that God would take care of Isabella gave me a calm I still don’t fully understand.

Through this tough time and her surgery, readers were so kind in sending emails, hand-written cards and leaving voicemails.

Based on feedback I had received in the past, I knew people liked my column, but it was at this point that I really felt my readers were like an extended family, each of them praying for our family in their own way.

In the end, our prayers were answered. The surgery was a success and Isabella hasn’t had any residual effects since that 10 days or horror in March 2017.

I decided to end the column in June 2019, right after Isabella’s graduation from preschool. I notified the readers three months in advance to let them know when the final column would run.

This was really tough because people had come to see Isabella as an extension of their family. She was recognized almost everywhere we went. She was “the baby from the paper!”

I felt as though she was Brevard County’s granddaughter.

However, I also felt it was time for her to have her privacy and start the next phase in her journey.

Passing my faith to my daughter 

In Fall of 2019, Isabella began her first year of kindergarten at a Catholic school. I wanted her to have the same Catholic bedrock and education I received when I was young.

I look forward to taking her to church every Sunday. Watching our 5-year-old do the sign of the cross and hearing her say the “Our Father” just makes my world brighter.

She also brings joy to those around us. She picks where we sit, and she’s found a favorite spot next to an older lady who we always see come to church alone.

Isabella will say good morning to her and she shakes her hand during the welcome and you can just tell that “Miss Sully” really enjoys sitting next to our little one.

Having Catholic roots means Isabella not only has a family that loves her, but she will always have that gift of religion to fall back on.

Faith is something that can keep her strong even in moments of weakness.

I’ve now been at FLORIDA TODAY for more than 17 years. The hard work and ethics that were instilled in me as a youngster have helped me survive and overcome in a continually shrinking industry.

It’s also helped me be a good father and husband.

But the best gift? The blessing I didn’t expect?

Sharing God’s love with my daughter.