Hermine H. Walker

Hermine Hyacinth Veronica Holness Walker passed away at the age 95 on December 3, 2025. She was a proud resident of Co-op City, Bronx, NY where she lived for over 40 years.
She was known for her kindness, strength, spiritedness, humor, generosity and amazing cooking skills. All who knew her could attest to the fact that she was a firecracker, a free-spirited woman who wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Hermine was a woman who touched the lives of everyone around her. She had a strong religious faith and always had a bible on hand and was ready to quote a scripture at any given moment.
Hermine was born on September 17, 1930, in Content, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica to the late Roderick Holness and Burdell Holness Neil and was the eldest of six siblings.
She grew up in Nain, St. Elizabeth where she was raised by her grandmother. She later married John A. Walker in Mandeville, Manchester on October 16, 1946. Four children were born of their marriage. She went on to live in Kingston, Jamaica, where she worked in the retail industry until she migrated to the United States in 1967. Her children eventually followed her to the US and originally settled in the Bronx.
Hermine dedicated her life to caring for others. She worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Francis Schervier Nursing Home in the Bronx until she retired in 1996. She loved taking care of people and found it very rewarding to make a difference in the lives of others. Friends and coworkers could always count on her to be their local park bench lawyer and on call doctor.
In recent years, due to her declining health, she was limited to her home in Co-op City. She was an avid Bible reader and loved the devotions and prayers offered by the Daily Word. She also enjoyed watching television and kept up with current events.
Her ultimate favorite hobbies were spending time on the phone as if she was running a hotline and cooking her legendary meals. She was very popular among friends and family, and they called her throughout the day especially for advice. Hermine loved the attention, and it gave her life meaning especially in the latter years.
She held the position of Matriarch of the family and will most importantly be remembered as the family historian who always loved sharing how she is cousin to the late Colin Powell and current Jamaica PM Andrew Holness. She was truly a proud Jamaican woman of God.
She is survived by children William Walker (Elaine), John Walker, Patrick Walker (Moira), and Sheila Santerre (Michel), brother Trevor Neil (Patricia), grandchildren Angelina Weise, Geraldine Sarci, Tanya J. Walker, Siovahn A. Walker, Patrick Walker, John Santerre, Billie Jean Robustelli, Alexis Walker, as well as many great grandchildren, nieces and nephews and other relatives.
She was predeceased by her husband John A. Walker, her siblings Dorett Daley, Sylvia Smith, Denzil Holness, Patrick Neil and her granddaughter Michelle Walker.
A viewing will be opened to family, friends and well-wishers on Friday, December 19th at Ruggiero & Sons Funeral Home, 732 Yonkers Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10704 between the hours of 2pm to 4pm and 7pm to 9pm.
A Celebration of Life service will take place on Saturday, December 20th at Ruggiero & Sons at 9am. Interment- 11:15am Mount Hope Cemetery, 50 Jackson Avenue Hastings on Hudson, NY 10706.
The visitation on Friday will be Livestreamed. Please use the following links to view the Livestream: Friday 2-4 PM - Friday 7-9 PM -
The service on Saturday will be Livestreamed. Please use the following link to view the Livestream: Saturday 9 AM -