Virginia "Ginny" Cleveland Walker

Virginia ”Ginny” Cleveland Walker was born in Greenville SC, February 1, 1945 and died October 1, 2024 at the age of 79 at her home in Columbia following a long illness and cared for by her two devoted sons.

She adored her now deceased parents, Harvey and Mary Cleveland, and her brothers, James Harvey (Buzz) Cleveland III and John Baker Cleveland. Growing up in Easley SC, she enjoyed memories of summers in Cedar Mountain, NC and the homestead in Cleveland, SC that were full of cookouts and hummingbirds and muddy feet from the creek.

Ginny was born with a generous spirit that endeared her to people with no effort on her part. Her tremendous empathy and ability to connect with people from all walks of life drew people to her. She was elected the first female Student Body President and crowned Homecoming Queen at Easley High School.

From there she made her way to Converse College excelling as a scholar of history and President of her Senior Class. Ginny’s path through life was marked with lifelong devoted friendships from Easley High, Converse to her professional time in Charleston where she deepened her love of history with her positions in development and administration with Charles Town Landing.

It was in Charleston that she met her husband Bryan Lawrence Walker, a physician who became Medical Chief of Staff at Lexington Medical Center and helped begin that hospital’s growth and success. She settled in Columbia with a growing family of two young boys and a busy physician husband. But this did not slow Ginny down. She was active in the Colonial Dames, Trinity Cathedral, Historic Columbia, a founder of Harvest Hope Food Bank and became President of the Junior League of Columbia.

Perhaps, though, Ginny’s greatest contribution to her community was her servant heart. She was born with a depth of empathy and kindness that is uncommon. She gave of her time, talent and treasure to almost any charity that requested her help. The tragedy of hunger in our society of abundance disturbed her greatly so she pushed and shoved until Harvest Hope was on solid footing.

She loved her children, Bryan Lawrence Walker, Jr. (‘B’) and Harvey Cleveland Walker (Cleve) with such devotion that she spent tremendous energy making sure they had attention that gave them security and affirmation – Boy Scouts den mother, summer camp in the neighborhood, family adventures and trips to beloved Cedar Mountain. And the really exceptional trait that Ginny inherently felt was her love for all children. She was always there to help a neighbor who had to miss a car pool or was late getting home from work. If you stopped by to pick up a child, you more often than not ended up having dinner.

When her husband succumbed to a long chronic debilitating illness, she never uttered a complaint. She spent nights making sure he was comfortable, celebrating birthdays and holidays, and keeping life interesting with visitors and conversation. Through all of those challenging years, Ginny never wavered from a cheerful commitment to take care of those she loved.

Predeceased by her parents and husband, Ginny is survived by her two sons, her brothers, and a host of nieces and nephews and a multitude of friends.

A celebration of her life will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, October 11 at Trinity Cathedral, followed by a reception at Satterlee Hall.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Ginny's honor to Harvest Hope Food Bank at https://www.harvesthope.org/feed-one-child