Joanne Walker

She was born on August 31, 1933, in Columbus, Georgia, as the middle of the five children of Vela Mae (Clemmons) Walding and John Calvin (“J.C.”) Walding. She attended Jordan High School in Columbus where she was president of various student organizations, salutatorian and head cheerleader. While she was cheerleading for Jordan High School, her future husband to-be, James Walker III, was the captain of, and a First Team All-State player for, their biggest football rival – Columbus High School.

As was the norm for women of the time, upon her graduation from high school she declined to attend college (turning down a full academic scholarship) and instead entered the working world. She initially worked for RC Cola in Columbus where, in addition to her work duties, she was a model for various RC Cola advertisements, serving trays and the like.

She married James Walker III in 1954 (they had been married for over 56 years at the time of Mr. Walker’s passing in 2010). Mr. Walker’s service in the Air Force and his subsequent career in the textile industry occasioned many moves during their married life, with them living in places as varied as Denver, CO, Myrtle Beach, SC, Pensacola, FL, Akron, OH, Weston, CT (where Mr. Walker took a daily train to the Empire State Building), Williamston, NC, Cary, NC, Amelia Island, FL and Atlanta, GA. They were active in various Methodist churches in the course of their moves, and because Joanne was a gifted singer, she invariably became a featured soloist for every church choir she joined.

She is preceded in death by her parents, and by all of her brothers and sisters – James Edwin (“Buddy”) Walding (1976), Bevelyn Walding Blair (2023), Jeannette Walding (died in infancy, 1940), and Cheryl Walding Tommey Crosby (2018).

She is survived by her only child, James Walker IV, of Atlanta, Georgia, by her grandchildren, James Walker, of Evanston, Illinois, and Alexander William Walker of Atlanta, Georgia, and by many nieces and nephews.

Special thanks are due to her close friends and chosen family – Vilma Franco, Susan Spencer, and Terresa Tarpley – who, among many other things, comforted and cared for her in her final months.

Visitation will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, 4071 Macon Road, Columbus, GA 31907, with chapel services immediately following at 2:00 p.m., and with a subsequent graveside service at Parkhill Cemetery. J. Blake Carpenter (D. Min, M. Div) will officiate.

(As a final note to future genealogists, although her legal first name was “Elsie,” she had nothing but loathing for that name and aggressively avoided using it. So, as would be consistent with her wishes, it is intentionally omitted here except for in this note.)