My favorite memory with Grandma when I was little was having a sleepover with Grandma and we had hot dogs and applesauce for dinner and pancakes with Karo syrup for breakfast. Kayla said she was absolutely the cutest old lady at the Oaks. Jacob remembers how she always measured how tall we were next to her and when we entered her room we were always greeted with “Oh! HELLOOOO”.
Noah loved her birthday parties and Hannah loved her laugh because it was contagious. Chad’s favorite memory of Grandma was when she was worried about our marriage because we didn’t sleep together, but then we had 4 kids and she didn’t worry anymore. 

How can I I choose over the last 65 yrs?  I watched as she became my dad's dialysis nurse and kept him alive 9 years one day at a time.  She helped me raise my 3 daughters and sat by my side holding my hand while I was in ICU at Grady Hospital.   She put her life on hold when she moved in with me to nurse me back to health.  Growing up she provided us with a loving, safe and happy Christian home.  In her latter years we were very close.  We loved to watch the Braves and The Gaither Homecoming show on TV.  We had many long talks and she told me not to cry when she died.  I told her I would cry but only for a little while.  I kept that promise. I know she has many jeweled crowns and has laid them at the feet of Jesus.  She couldn't wait to see her baby girl and hold her when got to heaven.  She is so happy now and I am so incredibly blessed to have been her daughter.

So sorry about your sweet mom. I know you and your family will really miss her. May all the wonderful memories of her help you through the tough days and weeks ahead.  I remember coming over to your house after basketball practice one day and had one of the best cubed steak dinner I ever ate. She was a great cook and she loved her family.  God be with you.

Grandma was so special to me growing up and for my kids. Grandma Walker was always there with open arms. I have so many memories of her it’s hard to pick just one. I remember when she lived in Hapeville we would sit on the front porch and crack pecans or when I would drive into town in Fayetteville and just swing by for a quick visit before going out with my friends. Another is more recent when she lived at the Oaks and we’d drop in, she was so happy to show her grandchildren off.  I think one of my favorite memories of Grandma was in her Spencer Square home. It was simple as us watching The Days of Our Lives soap and playing Skip Bo or Rummy. I also remember dropping in for a visit with some of my friends in high school and she had just made chili. My friend talked about Grandmas chili for years. I remember feeling so lucky that she was mine and everyone wanted her to be their Grandma.  
Miss you Grams. 

When was a kid and I would come to Patty's to play or hang out, I remember Mrs. Walker always with a smile, bustling about the kitchen and house. She was always welcoming and her house was always very tidy and clean. Later, after she moved to Fayetteville, I remember her very happily helping others out with rides to church or where ever they needed to go. She is in my memory  a very happy, friendly and kind person. Your family is blessed to have a mama like that and I know she is deeply missed.
Sally

My Maga Walker was one of my most favorite people in the whole world.  She had a heart that put other people first, and honestly, I think that is the only way she knew how to be!  
The majority of my childhood memories involved my GMa!  She was always their with her soft hugs and "hey Sweetheart".  She loved each of her grand-kids so much and equally, no matter what!  But when you were lucky enough to get to spend time with her by yourself you always felt like you were the most special thing on earth!  She was just good that way!  Whether it was because you were sick and she was the lucky one that got stuck taking care of you while your parents had to work, or if she was having you over for a spend the night time with GMa......it was always special!  Even when I grew into an adult, she was always there with open arms and a listening ear to walk me through life issues!  And some of the best times would be when we would find something to laugh about.....it wouldn't even be that funny, but once you got GMa giggling, it was hard to get her to stop!  
Her heart and love just continued to grow as her family grew!  Her great-grand-kids were blessed to have her around for so long......just so they could see her example of unconditional, selfless love!  
My Grandma's legacy is one greater than most.......she made an impact in this world one heart at a time!!  Her memory will never be lost, but she will be missed more than anyone can imagine!

My husband, Holly,  and I knew Darlene for over 35 years. When Darlene would come to Jacksonville we would always get together for a visit.
 
We enjoyed many good times, including our last visit at Christmas for the party at her senior living facility. That evening she enjoyed many cups of hot chocolate and Christmas cookies. She especially enjoyed watching people dance and sing.

She was a special friend and a true Southern lady.

I have so many wonderful memories of Grandma it is hard to pick just one. Some of my favorites are; our trip to the Grand Canyon, watching her little hands go over one another as quickly as they could to turn her car, our Target runs when she would get a motorized cart, telling her she is the best Grandma in the world only to have her say, "Well, I'm the only one you've got",  and of course listening to her talk about her husband Calvin. 

The memory I will share here though is when Nate (my husband) and I were going to Africa as missionaries for the Methodist church. Grandma was at our commissioning service. After the service she called me over to her. She motioned for me to lean down so she could whisper in my ear. She said, "just don't come back Methodist". 

Her faith is something I strive to emulate on a daily basis. The way she loved our Lord and Savior is the thing I will remember about her the most. I love you Grandma. You are and will always be the best Grandma in the world. 

What do you say about a woman that played a huge part in so many peoples lives? She went by so many different names but to me she was known as Grammy. Grammy was my one and only grandparent so she will always hold a special place in my heart. There is never a time growing up that I do not remember Grammy being there. Even though at times we lived hundreds of miles apart she was always there. Every major school event, every major vacation, she was right there! It was the 5 of us. Mom, Dad, Kate, Grammy and me. Grammy was always there! Whether is was to just listen or to give an encouraging word- she was there. On our vacations Grammy and I were always seat partners. In the van it was mom and dad in front, Grammy and I in the middle and sissy in the back. Grammy would play cards with Kate and I, we would tell stories or listen to music. Grammy wasn’t picky, she was just happy to be there.
The time that really stood out to me was when one of my best friends was killed in the Iraq war. She wrote me the most AMAZING letter that put everything into perspective.  The section that resonates with me the most is : "Please don’t let his death consume you with unrelenting sorrow. There is definitely a time for grieving. There is a time to mourn and a time to dance. After your period of mourning you will dance. Be thankful for the times you had together. No one can take those memories away from you! In your life you will have a treasure chest full of memories. He will have a special place there. I love you Sarah! All my love, Grammy.” Grammy, I want you to know you are there in that special treasure chest of my life! No one can ever replace or take away the memories we have together. I always have and always will love you forever Grammy and I can't wait to see you again!

Love Always,
-Sarah

The Christmas tree at Vogel State Park (1996) mentioned below.

I have many fond memories of Grams, trips we have taken and visits to her home.

One that stands out - Christmas at Vogel State Park. We woke up on Christmas Eve with the purpose of finding a Christmas tree. Tree farms were closed, but one had a line of trees propped up against a fence with an honor box attached for your payment. We found our $5 tree and took it back to the cabin to decorate. It was only as tall as Grams, but that little tree was beautiful! We enjoyed being together and had a quiet, stress free Christmas.

One of my other memories was this past Christmas, 2019. It was not a good day for her, but she made the effort to come to our home, and enjoyed dinner and the company of friends. I am so thankful that we were able to spend her last Christmas together.

She lived her faith until the very end. She was a loving wife, mother,  grandmother, great grandmother, and a truly wonderful friend. 

On this day, which would have been my father’s 94th birthday, there are many wonderful remembrances of my mother, but, for me, one which truly embodies her essence occurred many decades ago when I was freshman commuter student at Georgia Tech living in Hapeville.

Mom knew that since the age of nine, I had wanted to attend Tech and be a Civil Engineer, and that all of my efforts from that time forward had been toward reaching that goal.

At Tech, I struggled mightily with my  studies, and scored so poorly that my academic career was truly in jeopardy.

As I labored in my bedroom with homework one night, mom happened to be dusting my room. I put down my pencil, looked at her as she stood by my desk, and said, “Mom, I may flunk out.”

Without even  lifting her eyes, as she continued to dust, she said “We’ll still love you.”

Wow! This huge, monumental catastrophe which might take place meant nothing, had no effect, not one iota, on her love for me.

This is the unconditional love she gave to me and all of her family.

Growing up in Hapeville and being  Patty's age, I met Mrs. Walker when I was a kid. She was always sweet to me and any other kids that were around. I saw first hand how giving she was when we saw each other again when I was grown at Patty's and she was helping out. She was an amazing mother and grandmother.  The last time I saw her was at a childhood friend's funeral probably 10 years ago. I had moved out of the area years ago but we recognized each other and had a sweet conversation. I will always have found memories of her. I know she is resting at peace in the arms of our Lord. Lisa (Williams) Keever

I first met Mrs. Walker at a LWML  meeting. She knew Pastor Bill and Lil Jones my father and mother  in-law. Lil and Mrs. Walker became friends. Mrs. Walker was always smiling. I saw her often at LWML , Reformation services at Christ Lutheran and at St. Paul’s where we were in Bible studies together. One time she told me she had a grandson going to the seminary. I often felt she always smiled because she was at peace in Jesus. I’m thankful she had a grandson in the seminary because Pastor Joe Warnke is now my Pastor at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Griffin Ga.  Mrs. Walker was so pleased. She was proud of all her grandchildren and children. She was and is a Blessing to know. 

My two favorite funny memories with Grandma:
- Back in the 90's, I remember Grandma watching the Braves on TV at our house. She was sitting on her knees on the floor. The Braves had just done something good, because Grandma started excitedly pumping her fists by her side, yelling, "Hot dog! Hot dog!"
- Another time, as teenagers, Anna, Mary, and I were going to a church youth gathering in Jacksonville. We spent some extra time in Jax with Uncle Ted and Aunt Sharon, so Grandma came down with us. We took Grandma's car, a baby blue Mercury Grand Marquis (which Grandma was convinced was souped-up). I was driving, with Grandma in the passenger seat. As we were going south on I-75, south of Atlanta, I was doing 70 MPH. The speed limit was 65. At one point, Grandma slowly leaned over to look at the dash. I was thinking, "Oh, no. I'm about to get in trouble for speeding." To my surprise, Grandma look up at me and said, "You know this car can go faster, right?"
- Here is a picture of my son, Matthew, not sure what to think of his great-grandmother! Grandma laughed every time she looked at this picture!

This is a special picture to me, because it is of four generations: Grandma (Darlene), my mom Cindy, me (Joe), and my son Matthew. I am Darlene's oldest grandson and Matthew is Cindy's oldest grandson.

A particularly special memory was when, as a boy, I was standing next to Grandma as she was looking at my sainted Grandpa's marked-up Bible on the mantle. She casually commented, "The first grandson to become a pastor gets Grandpa's Bible." I remember thinking, "Huh, I wonder who that will be," not realizing at the time that she was talking about me, her oldest grandson.

Well, I did end up becoming a pastor and I was blessed and very thankful that Grandma was able to attend my ordination in 2017. The picture below, taken after my ordination service, is of all the family in attendance. (And I did get Grandpa's Bible, but she actually gave it to me shortly before I left for Seminary.)

The last pastor in the family before me was Rev. Theodore Walz, Grandma's grandfather. Grandma was the bridge generation between these two Lutheran pastors, knowing both of them: Her grandfather who baptized her and her grandson who buried her. I know I will see her again when her baptism into Christ's death, burial, and resurrection is ultimately fulfilled at the resurrection of the dead when Christ comes again.

One of my favorite memories of Grandma Walker is from our wedding.  I love this picture of us at our reception when she received me as her first (and to date, only) granddaughter-in-law. She will be missed.

I have so many memories of Darlene, Dorothy, Ken and I doing things together and having fun.
The trip we all made to Missouri to visit with cousin Ralph and his family was very special to both Ken and me.  Kenny made the comment last night that he always remembers Aunt Darlene with a smile on her face. She was such a sweetie pie, and we will all miss her.

About 4 years ago, we took Mom to Church in Jasper. Afterwards we decided to visit her friend's vineyard.  While we were sitting there, her friend came up and asked her how she was doing.  She told him about her aches and pains and how her knees weren't working very well. Then she looked up at him with a big smile and said, "but I can smile!"
When we were getting her in the car to take her back to The Oaks, she said, "I don't know where I've been or what I've done, but I had fun!"

My favorite memories with Grandma were going to her house to spend the night. We would watch Shirley Temple movies together which sparked my love of tap dancing. Grandma would put her curlers in my hair so that I would wake up in the morning with "Shirley Temple curls".  I loved looking through her photo albums and hearing all her stories of growing up but my favorite ones were about when she met Grandpa.

Later when she moved closer, I visited her every week after my art class to show her how my paintings were coming along. Grandma was always interested and supportive of everything I did and I could talk to her about anything.

Most recently we bonded over motherhood and loss, and she was overjoyed to meet my little girl. It was hard to get a picture because Grandma wouldn't stop kissing her. 

Grandma was also a wonderful example of a woman of faith. She taught me that your greatest witness was by how you lived your life. Grandma was always spending time in the Word and had boxes of sermon notes and bible study pages all filled out in her neat handwriting.

The last time I saw her, we sang "Jesus Loves Me" to my daughter. I'm thankful that because of that, Grandma and I will see each other again one day.

Grandma was always ready to have fun.  She'd play any number of games with whoever was around: Skip-Bo, Rummikub, Gin, Dominoes and more.  Some years we would come have an Easter egg hunt in her backyard.  One time when I was little, we made cookies together.  Oftentimes when she would come to visit, she and I would have a good time playing a feeble net-less rule-less version of badminton with racquets we happened to have. At her 70th birthday party, she received a large button that attracted my interest.  Seeing this, she promptly pinned it on me and we proceeded to play with the button for most of the rest of the day.   Grandma was happy, and I know she's happy still.

Mom was an excellent daughter and daughter-in-law. She was always there for her mother and Daddy's mother, especially as they aged.
Mom was an excellent mother and was very involved at our elementary school composing our fight song and starting and writing a school newsletter. She was always a good writer with excellent grammar and English skills.
Mom was also a very good friend and neighbor. Where we grew up, there were about 20 houses on our little street with about 22 kids on our side of the street alone. Our yard was the yard where everyone played. Mom was good friends with all her neighbors and organized the "Louise Street Picnic" which was even written up in the local paper. 
We were raised in the Church, going to every service and being involved in every aspect of the church. Mom was involved teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. She always drove us to Mid-Week School and Confirmation Classes. She was always volunteering to help someone do something. She was very involved in the Lutheran Women's Missionary League and often gave the programs or devotions for events. Once she researched, wrote, and performed a soliloquy of Katie Luther.
I often did not give my mother much credit for being so creative, because for me she was a very strict and loving, practical mom trying to do the best she could with what we had. But one of my earliest memories of Mom's thrifty creativity was a glass container placed on the window sill over the sink in the kitchen, where she spent a lot of time. Just small glass candy dishes full of water with a few drops of food coloring in them, making a beautiful decoration, especially when the sunshine hit it. I still have that glass container and have set it up like I remember it.
Mom made alot of my clothes and taught me to sew. Before I left elementary school, I was making most of my own clothes.
Continued...

...Continued...
Later, she became Grandma and was involved with all the kids, spending time with them, playing cards and games, and pretending with them. 
Then came the great-grandkids, and she had a big smile for every one of them whenever they would visit her.
But now she is really home! Home with her Beautiful Savior! Rejoicing in his Presence with Daddy and Nonie and Papa and so many of her and my aunts and uncles and dear friends! Thanks be to God that Jesus died for us all, that we have the privilege of spending eternity with Christ and the whole Christian Church Triumphant!!
"But, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God had prepared for those who love him' "
1 Corinthians 2:9

When I was little, Grandma would come visit us, and we'd play rock school and Rummikub.  One time we were playing and she started drawing designs and showing me how.  She said she had always wanted to be a fashion designer.  Below is one of her designs: "Designs by Darlene D/d" and one of mine: "Designs by Abby Ideas by Grandma."

I also remember going to her house and making either cookies or banana pudding.

In more recent years, I had gotten a button that said "Kiss me I'm Lutheran" with a picture of Martin Luther with lipstick on his cheek.  I showed it to her and she told me, "You be careful with that!"

Grandma Walker was such a good Grandma. She loved all of us, but wanted us to know she loved us all equally, so at Christmas, if she didn't spend the whole alotted money on you, you got an envelope with the remaining $1.26 so no one could say she had a favorite grandchild!

I remember her being there taking care of me when my younger siblings were born.  I remember her coming to our dance recitals growing up.

Grandma was especially interested in making sure I found a nice man to marry, and gave me a lot of advice on this topic:
"I'm not saying you should go chase a man. But he ain't gonna look behind the door for you"
"I'm not saying that you should marry for money. But it's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man"
"I'm not saying looks are the most important thing. But if you're gonna look at the same face across the breakfast table for the rest of your life, you better like looking at it."
Thankfully, she let me know that my Joe met her approval, and she commended him for "looking her straight in the eyes".

We had a special year when I picked her up from her home and would take her to church with me. I remember her saying she loves the hymn "I Know That My Redeemer Lives".  We sang that together the last time I saw her.  I cherish those memories as assurance that I will see Grandma again, when I get to meet Grandpa, at our joyous Heavenly reunion. 

Over the last year, Ms. Darlene has challenged me as a pastor and how I view my role in marriage. Since I want to see all the couples I marry build their marriage on a solid foundation in Christ, I wasn’t sure I would marry two people who didn’t both have a solid relationship with the Lord. Then I met Ms. Darlene. She shared with me (many times) how the Lord brought her husband to the waters of baptism. That for the first three years of her marriage, she would go to church on Sunday morning and he would go play poker. But she said she never nagged him... she just remained faithful. And through a hospital visit, he started to attend and asked to be baptized. What an amazing faith and an amazing story. Be faithful and uncompromising in your relationship with God and allow the Spirit to work. I loved that story and will miss hearing her tell it, but will share that story over and over in the years to come. 

She also craved The Lord’s Supper. Even when she was tired or weak, she perked up when it was time for Communion. May we all do the same and never take it for granted. 

Well done good and faithful servant. 

Darlene and her family (O.T. and Edith Walz and family) were very dear friends of my family, members of two churches in Atlanta (Grace and Christ Lutheran). Darlene was my Sunday School teacher when I was in kindergarten and early years of elementary school. She and her husband Cal were stalwarts of the church. I have only the very best memories of Darlene and her family, her husband, sister, brothers and the children. I am sad to learn of her passing but I know she’s back with Cal, O. T. and Edith and that’s a great blessing. 

There are so many memories and laughter to remember, but one memory that speaks to who she was was when my father passed away. She was at the Hospital with us and my sister was having a difficult time. My Brother in Law wasn't there with her and she needed him to be there.  Darlene went to the pay phone, called my brother in law and fussed at him to come to the hospital to be with his wife.  I loved her for doing that for my sister. 
Her devotion to helping my mother for so many years was such a gift. 
She was such a spunky and funny soul who had a really big heart. She will be greatly missed.

OBITUARY

Darlene Walz Walker

November 20, 1927 – February 25, 2020

Tara Garden Chapel

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