Lillian A. Walker

Lillian Walker
of Bremerton
October 2, 1913 to January 4, 2012

Lillian Walker, 98, died in her sleep on January 4, 2012. She is survived by son James T. Jr., daughters June Newman and Jeannine Hightower, and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

One of eleven children, she was born October 2, 1913 to Moses and Ethyl Allen on a farm near Carrier Mills, IL, where she grew up. After finishing school and working in Illinois, she moved to Seattle and married James Walker in 1941. She and James settled in Bremerton and purchased the house where she and James raised a family and lived the rest of their lives.

Although for a short while she was employed at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and then the U.S. Postal Service, family was first and foremost in her life and she left the workforce to become a homemaker. She always had time for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, always ready for a game of Scrabble. Making a home for her family was her pride and joy as was gardening. She loved reading, and when younger enjoyed playing volleyball with her sister-in-law Evelyn Allen and friends.

Besides being a parent and involved in PTA, Campfire Girls, and Scouting, she was a bookkeeper, accountant, and office assistant; with James at her side, she was extensively involved in community service and advocating for civil rights and social justice in Kitsap County. She helped found the YWCA of Kitsap County, and she and James helped organize the Bremerton branch of the NAACP. She served on the Kitsap County Regional Library Board, and over the years she was active with Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church, Eastern Star, Church Women United, the Kitsap County Democratic Party, the Bremerton Garden Club, Carver Civic Club of Bremerton, the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, and the Kitsap County Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council.

In her later years she received a number of community service awards that included: MLK Citizens of the Century (along with husband James) from Kitsap County's Martin Luther King Memorial Scholarship Fund Committee in 1997, Bremerton PTA Golden Acorn Award, Kitsap County Democrats Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, YWCA Founders' Award, and Liberty Bell Award from the Kitsap County Bar Association in 2009. She was known for her energy, her frank opinions, and her persistence, and beloved for her caring attitude. Her practical advice and counsel and her inspirational spirit were treasured by her family and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband James T. Walker, and son James W. Walker and daughter Alice Carter, and her dear friend Marie Greer.