On February 1, 1959, Floyd William Walls was born in Gary, Indiana as the first child of Clark and Marjorie Walls. His father gleefully ran up and down the block declaring to everyone that he “…had a son!!!”. He was the namesake of his great-great-uncle Floyd William. He never got the chance to remember being the baby of the family for long because his brothers Darrell and Warren were born within the next two years. He would become the head of the “Big-Three” just like the Three Musketeers! He became “Big Bruhda Floyd” to his six siblings. He would also be the first of 56 cousins on his mother’s side and of 10 cousins on his father’s side.

To truly appreciate Floyd’s character, one needs to go no further than to ask his mother (his father has passed) and remaining siblings about their fondest memories of him: “Mama” (Marjorie), “...I still have the clearest memory of his birth as my firstborn. When I first heard him cry out and when he smiled at me, it was love at first sight….”. Darrell, “… I remember working in the stifling summer heat at our large family garden at high noon. Floyd encouraged me to carry on and finish the job….”. “Moochie” (Warren), “…He gave me his car so I could go to college. He had the biggest heart….”. “Pooh” (Clark Jr.), “… I remember him building the most immaculate aquariums. That inspired my love of aquariums too…”. “Missy, Pippi, Lynn” (Linnetta), “…In the 7th grade I was struggling with algebra. I sought him out because I knew math was his forte. Because of his clear instruction, I learned algebra in 45 minutes and never struggled again…”. “Mike” (Michael), “…He used to take me smelt fishing at Lake Street beach in Miller. When the season began, we would join large crowds to fish for smelt with our nets, build campfires and eat them there too. It was a very popular tradition in the 70s and 80s on the Lake Michigan shores...”. “Nek-Nek” (Kenneth), “…Floyd was the one who took me to see Star Wars for the first time and I remain a huge fan of the franchise to this very day.”.

He went on to graduate from West Side High School in Gary, IN and attended Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.