Jonye Walker

Jonye Sears Walker has gone to be with our Lord and Savior. She died peacefully in her sleep at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center on January 17, 2023. She was 26. Or 27. It varied.

She was born June 12, 1940, in Lubbock, Texas, to John Lane Sears and Mildred Belle Deaton Sears. She said her adored rancher father made a fortune and lost a fortune many times. He lost his fortune for the last time during her childhood. Like her dad, she loved dogs and horses and all animals. She got her first dog, a collie named Tippy, in Lubbock.

The family moved from Lubbock to a ranch in Atoka, Oklahoma, where they raised hogs and cattle. When she was 4, her dad gave her her first horse, 4-year-old Princess, a paint. Jonye could ride a horse before she could walk. For the 1st grade, Jonye rode Princess to the one-room schoolhouse in Atoka. When she was 7, the family moved to Hugo, Oklahoma. Her brother Jerry was born when she was 7. The Sears family also had a ranch on Roebuck Lake in Oklahoma, making that their humorous and only connection to the department store.

She was married over 35 years to the love of her life, Don Angelo Moscarelli, a life-long Houstonian. She knew it was love when she heard he had horses. She had two children with her former husband Jerald Ritter Walker: Jana Renée Walker and Jeffrey Ritter Walker. She went to Europe twice with Jana and husband Lawrence George Dussack. Jeff and wife Edna Maria Walker gave her the greatest gift of two grandchildren. She was the first non-medical person to hold her first grandchild, Amanda Sampaio Walker, and they had an inseparable bond. She regretted not being able to attend the wedding on December 30, 2022, of her other beloved grandchild, Sabrina Ashley Walker, to Ryan Riemersma. She was able to watch the event via FaceTime from her hospital bed. It was one of her last happy moments. She loved children and happily spoke of Don’s grand- and great-grandchildren by his children, Nicky, Gina, and Donna.

She loved politics and was active in many groups. She was a member of Tejas Republican Women’s Club and Braes Republican Women’s Club. Other organizations she was active in: James Hardage Lane I Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution; Miss Ima Hogg Chapter, Daughters of the Republic of Texas; and Robert E. Lee Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy.

She loved everyone and spoke kindly of all. She gave to the SPCA and Wounded Warriors, always concerned about abandoned animals and honoring our veterans. She especially loved the people of St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church. They were a second family to her. She became a Christian in 1953 and wrote about it from summer camp: “I have decided to dedicate my life to Christ. I want to follow him and be with him.”

Her funeral will be held 2pm Thursday, January 26, at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church. The address is 4900 Jackwood St., Houston, Texas, 77096. Please park in the Jackwood St. parking lot. Enter the church through the Jackwood gate or walk along the sidewalk on Endicott to get to the church front doors.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.AdvantageHoustonFunerals.com for the Walker family.