Royce Annie Walker

She was born at home on the family farm in Stonewall County. She was delivered into the world by her grandmother, Margaret Beeman. She was given her father's name as a first name, Royce, but was known by all as Annie. Along with her sisters and brother she worked the cotton fields, tended to farm animals, and learned to cook and clean at an early age. She loved to talk about her childhood days of riding horses as a main means of transportation to see friends and family on the surrounding farms.

After graduating from Peacock High School in 1950, she moved to Lubbock, Texas to become a licensed beautician. She met her husband to be, Wayne Walker, at an arranged double date that took place during his work lunch break. In their final days together, she would refer to Wayne as the love of a lifetime. Annie continued to work as a hair stylist until she became a mother in 1955. She later began working as a dental assistant alongside her husband in his private dental practice. In 1974, along with her husband, she was hired to work for the State of Texas. Together, they drove around the State of Texas in a dental van, helping to provide dental care to low-income, uninsured children.

She was a lifetime member of the Baptist Church, serving as the Minister's wife in the early years of their marriage when Wayne became the pastor of the Craft Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Texas. Eventually, her husband moved the family to Omaha, Nebraska so he could attend Creighton University School of Dentistry. Annie learned how to navigate the cold, snowy winters of Nebraska, no small task for a woman raised on a hill of a red-dirt farm in Texas. After dental school, they returned to Lubbock, Texas, but later moved to Munday, Texas. After their son and daughter completed high school in Munday, Wayne and Annie moved to start a dental practice in Dallas, Texas. They also started a bible study for their neighbors in the Dallas area, returning to their calling to share God's word. Eventually, they moved to Killeen, Texas, where Wayne worked at the dental unit of Fort Hood until he retired. They enjoyed living in Killeen and had some wonderful, caring neighbors who helped look out for them as the adopted grandparents of Amethyst Street. Annie and Wayne lived their final days together at the Family Tree Assisted Living Center in Round Rock, Texas.

Annie was an amazing cook and enjoyed returning to her childhood roots by gardening and feeding the birds that gathered daily in her yard. She was especially fond of watching tiny hummingbirds, who seemed to move non-stop as they went about their day. Annie, who stood only five-feet tall, could easily be described as a hummingbird, as her energy was also non-stop. Annie's legacy includes her many homemade quilts, treasured now by her family and friends. She sewed most of her own clothes as well as made dolls and teddy bears for children and grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, Dr. Howard Wayne Walker of Killeen, Texas; her son, Dr. David Wayne Walker of San Francisco, California; her parents, Roy and Alma Rash of Peacock, Texas; and by her sisters, Elizabeth Perrin and Muriel Mays. She is survived by her daughter, Linda Foster (David) of Austin; grandchildren, Nicholas Foster (Jasmine) of Hutto, Susan Garza (Edgar) of Round Rock, Mark Foster (Jenni) of Arvada, Colorado, Catherine Foster (Michael) of Bellaire, Kimberly Bates (Shawn) of Trussville, Alabama, and Wayne Foster (Katherine) of Denton; her brother, Lowell Rash (Janice) of Aspermont; her sister, Carol Rash of Breckenridge, Texas; many nephews and nieces; and Tom and Patti Foster of Cedar Park. Together, Annie and Wayne were very blessed with ten great-grandchildren: Tristan, Aidan, Oliver, Gael, John, Ada, Margaret, Graham, Charlotte, and Henry.

In lieu of flowers, Wayne and Annie supported Shiner's Children's Hospitals and St. Jude's Children Hospital.