Evelyn Gladys Guernsey Walker of Eskridge, Kansas, and Los Gatos, California, passed away peacefully in her sleep July 2, 2011, at the age of 92.
She was born on the family dairy farm near Cobleskill, New York, November 3, 1918. Her parents were Gladys (Earl) Guernsey and Grover Cleveland Guernsey. Evelyn’s mother, Gladys, died within days after childbirth in the influenza epidemic of 1918. Evelyn had two loving brothers, Gerald Rickard Guernsey and Loren Jesse Guernsey, from the subsequent marriage of Grover Cleveland Guernsey and Dorothy Ruth (Rickard) Guernsey.
Evelyn graduated from Cobleskill High School in 1935. Russell Sage College in Troy, New York, granted Evelyn the Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1940. Russell Sage College was the second school in the nation to grant this degree after Yale. She truly treasured her college years. Friends made there have lasted an entire lifetime.
At Russell Sage, Evelyn rode the thoroughbred Red Moon on the equestrian team and was active in theatre arts. She studied for her Masters in Pediatric Nursing at Albany Medical College in Albany, New York. However, she did not receive this degree as she was swept away by the love of her life and husband of 68 years. Dr. William Harold Walker was in his internal medical residency at Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York. “Bill” and Evelyn met at a hospital dance. He shared, during their 50th wedding anniversary celebration, “I saw the most beautiful girl in the world across the dance floor.” They were married November 6, 1941, in Cobleskill, New York. Evelyn was also an American National Red Cross Nurse.
Dr. Walker was a military doctor in the Army Air Medical Corps at the Army Air Force Regional Hospital, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. While stationed there, Evelyn gave birth to their daughter, Carol Sue (Walker) Henderson and first son, William Charles Walker in 1944 and 1945, respectively. Life as a devoted, loving mother and military wife transitioned them to the Walker family home in Eskridge, Kansas, in the fall of 1947. Dr. Walker took over the family medical practice from his father, Dr. Charles William Walker, in Eskridge, Kansas.
Evelyn gave birth to two more sons in Eskridge: Michael Grover Walker in 1948 and Brian Kent Walker in 1953. Nurturer, caregiver and volunteer are descriptive of the way she lived her life as a wife, mother and friend. Love for nursing was always present as she assisted her husband with school children’s immunizations. She enjoyed children so much she was always a room mother in one child’s classroom or another. Evelyn was a cook and baker extraordinaire. She was a well read, avid reader until glaucoma took her eyesight. She belonged to many service and social groups in Eskridge including Ladies Auxiliary of the Eskridge Methodist Church, Study Club, Jolly Eight card club and the Town and Country Bridge Club for 30 plus years. Evelyn served as an officer in the Kansas State Division of the American Heart Association and was treasurer of the parents’ club of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, Missouri Gamma chapter at Westminster College, Fulton, MO.
Evelyn and Doctor shared a love for travel and literally visited every continent (except Antarctica). Through the years all of their children located to the West Coast. In the fall of 1998, Evelyn and Doctor moved to the Terraces of Los Gatos, CA, to be nearer to their children, grandchildren and eventually great grandchildren. As a beloved grandmother, “Grammie” attended many theatrical, athletic and academic events.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her beloved husband, William Harold Walker, M.D., who passed away December 1, 2009. She is survived by her daughter, Carol Sue (Walker) Henderson, R.N., and her husband Gerald Glenn Henderson of Portola Valley, CA; her son William Charles Walker and his wife Anamaria (Guimaraes) Walker, R.N., of Los Gatos, CA; her son Michael Grover Walker and his wife Nancy (Denning) Walker of Seattle, WA; her son Brian Kent Walker, M.D., and his wife Bonnie (Williams) Walker of Piedmont, CA; grandchildren Ian Gerald Henderson of Moscow, Russia; Seth Walker Henderson and his wife Jennifer “Weezie” (Edsell) Henderson of Portland, OR; Kansas Brooks G. Wm. Henderson and his wife Stefanie (Olsen) Henderson of San Mateo, CA; Claudio Walker and his wife Laure (Evans) Walker of San Jose, CA; Michele (Walker) Bowes and her husband Bobby Bowes of San Jose, CA; Nicole Walker of San Jose, CA; Colin and Dana Walker of Seattle, WA; Chase and Easton McVeigh-Walker and Wm. Chase Mullins of Piedmont, CA; and great grandchildren Katherine Taylor and Margaret Morgan Henderson of Portland, OR; and Preston and Devon Walker Bowes of San Jose, CA; and beloved sister-in-law, Ruth (Brown) Guernsey of Cobleskill, New York; and many loving and beloved nieces and nephews from New York and Texas.
Funeral services will be held at the First Methodist Church of Eskridge, Kansas, on Saturday, July 23, 2011 at10:30 A.M. Interment graveside services will follow at the Eskridge Cemetery where Evelyn will be laid to rest by her beloved husband, William Harold Walker, M.D. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either the First Methodist Church of Eskridge, Kansas or the American Foundation for the Blind in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home.
Beloved Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, Aunt, sister-in-law and friend Evelyn Gladys Guernsey Walker, will be sorely missed. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Evelyn Gladys Walker, please visit our flower store.
She was born on the family dairy farm near Cobleskill, New York, November 3, 1918. Her parents were Gladys (Earl) Guernsey and Grover Cleveland Guernsey. Evelyn’s mother, Gladys, died within days after childbirth in the influenza epidemic of 1918. Evelyn had two loving brothers, Gerald Rickard Guernsey and Loren Jesse Guernsey, from the subsequent marriage of Grover Cleveland Guernsey and Dorothy Ruth (Rickard) Guernsey.
Evelyn graduated from Cobleskill High School in 1935. Russell Sage College in Troy, New York, granted Evelyn the Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1940. Russell Sage College was the second school in the nation to grant this degree after Yale. She truly treasured her college years. Friends made there have lasted an entire lifetime.
At Russell Sage, Evelyn rode the thoroughbred Red Moon on the equestrian team and was active in theatre arts. She studied for her Masters in Pediatric Nursing at Albany Medical College in Albany, New York. However, she did not receive this degree as she was swept away by the love of her life and husband of 68 years. Dr. William Harold Walker was in his internal medical residency at Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York. “Bill” and Evelyn met at a hospital dance. He shared, during their 50th wedding anniversary celebration, “I saw the most beautiful girl in the world across the dance floor.” They were married November 6, 1941, in Cobleskill, New York. Evelyn was also an American National Red Cross Nurse.
Dr. Walker was a military doctor in the Army Air Medical Corps at the Army Air Force Regional Hospital, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. While stationed there, Evelyn gave birth to their daughter, Carol Sue (Walker) Henderson and first son, William Charles Walker in 1944 and 1945, respectively. Life as a devoted, loving mother and military wife transitioned them to the Walker family home in Eskridge, Kansas, in the fall of 1947. Dr. Walker took over the family medical practice from his father, Dr. Charles William Walker, in Eskridge, Kansas.
Evelyn gave birth to two more sons in Eskridge: Michael Grover Walker in 1948 and Brian Kent Walker in 1953. Nurturer, caregiver and volunteer are descriptive of the way she lived her life as a wife, mother and friend. Love for nursing was always present as she assisted her husband with school children’s immunizations. She enjoyed children so much she was always a room mother in one child’s classroom or another. Evelyn was a cook and baker extraordinaire. She was a well read, avid reader until glaucoma took her eyesight. She belonged to many service and social groups in Eskridge including Ladies Auxiliary of the Eskridge Methodist Church, Study Club, Jolly Eight card club and the Town and Country Bridge Club for 30 plus years. Evelyn served as an officer in the Kansas State Division of the American Heart Association and was treasurer of the parents’ club of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, Missouri Gamma chapter at Westminster College, Fulton, MO.
Evelyn and Doctor shared a love for travel and literally visited every continent (except Antarctica). Through the years all of their children located to the West Coast. In the fall of 1998, Evelyn and Doctor moved to the Terraces of Los Gatos, CA, to be nearer to their children, grandchildren and eventually great grandchildren. As a beloved grandmother, “Grammie” attended many theatrical, athletic and academic events.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her beloved husband, William Harold Walker, M.D., who passed away December 1, 2009. She is survived by her daughter, Carol Sue (Walker) Henderson, R.N., and her husband Gerald Glenn Henderson of Portola Valley, CA; her son William Charles Walker and his wife Anamaria (Guimaraes) Walker, R.N., of Los Gatos, CA; her son Michael Grover Walker and his wife Nancy (Denning) Walker of Seattle, WA; her son Brian Kent Walker, M.D., and his wife Bonnie (Williams) Walker of Piedmont, CA; grandchildren Ian Gerald Henderson of Moscow, Russia; Seth Walker Henderson and his wife Jennifer “Weezie” (Edsell) Henderson of Portland, OR; Kansas Brooks G. Wm. Henderson and his wife Stefanie (Olsen) Henderson of San Mateo, CA; Claudio Walker and his wife Laure (Evans) Walker of San Jose, CA; Michele (Walker) Bowes and her husband Bobby Bowes of San Jose, CA; Nicole Walker of San Jose, CA; Colin and Dana Walker of Seattle, WA; Chase and Easton McVeigh-Walker and Wm. Chase Mullins of Piedmont, CA; and great grandchildren Katherine Taylor and Margaret Morgan Henderson of Portland, OR; and Preston and Devon Walker Bowes of San Jose, CA; and beloved sister-in-law, Ruth (Brown) Guernsey of Cobleskill, New York; and many loving and beloved nieces and nephews from New York and Texas.
Funeral services will be held at the First Methodist Church of Eskridge, Kansas, on Saturday, July 23, 2011 at10:30 A.M. Interment graveside services will follow at the Eskridge Cemetery where Evelyn will be laid to rest by her beloved husband, William Harold Walker, M.D. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either the First Methodist Church of Eskridge, Kansas or the American Foundation for the Blind in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home.
Beloved Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, Aunt, sister-in-law and friend Evelyn Gladys Guernsey Walker, will be sorely missed. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Evelyn Gladys Walker, please visit our flower store.
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