Profiles of Life: Kathleen Walton

Kathleen Walton, 40, was a single mother whose life revolved around her son, Levi, 11. She saved his life Monday by letting go just as Monday's massive tornado was pulling her from beneath an overpass on Interstate 35.

"She told him to close his eyes; they prayed. She told him she loved him and then let go," said Shawna Halstead, the Waltons' neighbor in Anadarko. "She was afraid she'd pull him out (with her)."

Halstead is caring for Levi, who related the heroism to her.

"She was a very spiritual lady; she had a lot of faith," Halstead said. "This boy is not having any trouble with it for the simple fact that he has all the faith she taught him. He knows she went to be with the Lord. That's what he'll tell you. She went to a better place than here. She taught him the reality of life and death."

Walton originally was from Louisiana. She had lived in Fort Cobb before moving to Anadarko about five months ago. Just about a month ago, she was laid off from her job, but that didn't stop her from helping others, another friend said.

"She didn't have very much, but if she had it and somebody else needed it, she'd give it to them," said Dani Henderson of Anadarko. "That's what she was doing on Monday: She was on the way back from giving some friends a ride to Oklahoma City."

Henderson said Walton often took her son to the lake, they went bike riding, they loved to watch movies together, enjoyed flea markets and were big wrestling fans, especially of Steve Austin.

"Everything she did was all around Levi," Henderson said. "Every dime she ever got went to Levi."

- Mac Bentley