Obituary of Dr. Walter Clingman Aiken, Jr.

On Thursday, July 16, 2020, long-time native Ocalan Dr. Walter Clingman Aiken, Jr., changed addresses and quietly, peacefully moved to Heaven to begin spending Eternity with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and be reunited with his wife, Wanda.   He has now taken his rightful place in chiropractic history.

He was born in Ocala, Florida on October 1, 1934 to Edith Malone Aiken and Walter C. Aiken, Sr., both predeceased.  Dr. Walt was also predeceased on September 1, 2017 by his wife of over 63 years, Wanda Malphurs Aiken, a fifth generation Floridian.  Survivors are sons: Pastor Walter C. Aiken, III, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; David Marshall Aiken, Port Orange, FL; daughters: Dr. Cynthia Aiken Bowlin (son-in-law, Myron K. Bowlin); and Sandra Renee Aiken, Belleview, FL., and a brother, Bill Aiken, Limestone, TN.  His four granddaughters, Mackenzie Nicole, Kendall Addison, Cassidy Lynn, and Kennedy Faith, (Belleview) all loved and adored their “Buddy”.  Likewise, he cherished every moment of his time with them, and always tried to have a family story to pass along.

While enrolled in pre-dental studies at the University of Florida, Dr. Walt became deeply interested in chiropractic, and earned his Doctor of Chiropractic degree in 1961, graduating from Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport, Iowa.

Miss Wanda’s favorite story was when Dr. Walt told of the primary thing that helped the most to make their marriage last so long – 63½ years. - was that on their 25th anniversary, he proudly took her to Hawaii..  Then, on their 50th, he went back and got her! 

 Dr. Walt and Miss Wanda were affectionately so nicknamed by their thousands of patients during an intense fifty-four-year-long chiropractic career.   They always had an extreme passion and personal concern to provide the very best chiropractic care around.  Their enduring love resulted in unusually high numbers of patients being attracted to their practice from across The United States, Canada, and multiple foreign countries.

In 1983, after a private practice of over twenty years in Ormond Beach, Florida, Dr. Walt was invited to join the faculty, and later, became Alumni Director of Life Chiropractic University, the institution which he and Miss Wanda proudly helped found in 1974.  Accepting the invitation meant leaving over twenty years of living and practicing in Ormond Beach where their favorite lifetime memories with band parents included working with and traveling with the award-winning Seabreeze “Marching 100+” High School Band.

His military service with the U.S. Navy during the mid-1950’s included a Mediterranean cruise aboard an aircraft carrier, The USS Randolph (CVA-15) and later, an assignment to Helicopter Squadron 5 in Key West., FL..To his many respected accomplishments and fifty four years of chiropractic service, Dr. Walt was often consulted on difficult cases and recognized and honored by his colleagues and peers beginning with receiving the Delta Sigma Chi Outstanding Graduate Award at his graduation in 1961.  He would laughingly proclaim that when he received that award, was when he saw his first chiropractic miracle.  Other honors and awards included being listed in Who’s Who In Chiropractic, Second Edition, 1980; Past President and Secretary, Florida State Board of Chiropractic, appointed by Governor Reuben Askew, 1975-1979; Member (by invitation), Editorial Review Board,

Today’s Chiropractic, an international Professional Journal; Member, International Chiropractors association Insurance Peer Review Committee, 1979-1982; Trustee, Life Foundation, a chiropractic public service and educational foundation for many years; a founding member of the Florida Chiropractic Society.   Of all the honors he was bestowed, his most precious was becoming an ordained Deacon able to serve Christ in both The First Baptist Churches of Daytona Beach and of Ocala.

In 1990, the desire to resume private practice became overwhelming, so they moved to Englewood, Florida and for ten years he and Miss Wanda built another large family practice.  During those years, Dr. Walt got to enjoy his second love – writing about chiropractic – as the featured weekly Health Columnist for “Focus On Health” during many years in the Englewood Sun- Herald.   After a brief retirement and returning to his Ocala roots in 2004 (at age seventy) Dr. Walt and Miss Wanda established another large family practice in The Villages area, and finally retired in February, 2014.  During his practice, Dr. Walt was frequently consulted by colleagues for difficult cases.  After being in the presence of a new patient for just a short time, Dr. Walt just seemed “to know” a patient’s problem, an innate gift he could never explain.

A victorious “Celebration of Life” and “Graduation To Glory” will be held on Wednesday, July 22, 2020 at 2:00 PM at First Baptist Church At The Villages 16523 SE 76th Chatham Avenue The Villages, FL 32162. Arrangements entrusted to Hiers-Baxley Funeral Services, 5946 SE Robinson Road, Belleview, FL 34420.  Condolences may be left at Hiers-Baxley.com.