Jessie Faye Walton

Jessie Faye Walton, age 95, of Oakland, Florida, was called home to the Good Lord on January 23, 2025. Jessie was born on October 28, 1929 in Hinton, West Virginia. She was a coal-miner’s daughter, born to Thomas and Blanch Tickle, one of seven children. When she was 11 years old, Jessie often sang and played guitar on a local radio station. This was her favorite part of childhood. At only 15, Jessie was married to Ernest Wood and moved to Oregon and later Michigan. Jessie’s greatest joys in life were her children, Ernest (Paul), Thomas (Tom), Anita Faye, Albert (Al) and her step-daughter Karen. Jessie worked several jobs to make ends meet, and after almost thirty years, eventually left a difficult marriage when it wasn’t common to do so. As a single woman she became a seamstress for Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan, where she was proud to sew the seats on the brand new 1964.5 Ford Mustang.

While at Ford, she met Morris Walton, who would charm her with his wit and kindness and become her second husband in 1983. In 1986, she and Morris retired and moved to Florida for a spell, and then to Arizona. They called Arizona home for over 20 years, enjoying the arid landscape, their two dogs, Lucky and Lucy, the casinos and the hummingbirds that visited their back porch. It was during retirement that Jessie learned to cross-stitch, and this is often how she started her day, stitching beautiful pictures for her family and friends, including her famous Christmas stockings. When Morris passed in 2009, Jessie moved back to Florida to be closer to her children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Her family gathered at her house each year for Thanksgiving and for “Wood Family Christmas,” delighting in Jessie’s famous fruit salad, telling stories, strumming the guitar, and simply rejoicing in being together. She was an avid reader and a puzzle-lover.

She is survived by three of her children, Ernie, Anita, Al, and her step-daughter, Karen. Fifty-nine people call her grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother. She is known as Grammy to many more as well. Jessie leaves a legacy of love to her treasured family. Services will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery on Saturday, February 1, 2025 at 12:30. In lieu of flowers, charitable donations can be made to the Adult Literacy League (https://www.adultliteracyleague.org/) in Winter Park, Florida, in honor of Jessie’s love of books and literature.