Cicely “Tish” Pyrl Blevins Walker

Cicely “Tish” Pyrl Blevins Walker passed away comfortably Tuesday, February 26th, 2019 at Living Care Health Center at the age of 91. Tish was born in Naches, WA to James Claude Blevins and Agnes Grace Blevins on July 12th, 1927. Her parents were postmasters in Naches and would sometimes take Cicely into work. People coming for their mail would ask her name and when she said Cicely, it came out as “Tish” so her nickname stuck! Her parents then started the Naches Dairy and Tish helped deliver milk in the morning before school. Tish was active in high school, involved in band, pep squad, tennis, and annual staff. Tish was very proud that she attended Washington State College for a year. Go Cougs! Tish loved her high school years and spent much time organizing high school reunions for the Class of 1944. While home on summer break, she saw Dick Walker in downtown Naches when he was on leave from WWII. She asked him how he was doing? He replied, “Not very good, I should have stayed home and married you!” Tish and Dick were married a few months later, September 11th, 1945. They had two daughters, Penney and Pattey. Over the years the family spent much time fishing, camping and boating. They loved having friends and family over to play cards and ping-pong. Tish worked for Shaw & Sons funeral home, the Soil Conservation Service and then the Food Stamp Program, being the first woman to travel the state inspecting sites. Tish and Dick loved to bowl, golf and travel. Many trips were taken to Hawaii and to see Pattey and her husband John. Later in life they wintered in Yuma, Arizona enjoying the sunshine, returning to their Yakima home for beautiful summers around the pool with family and friends. Tish was an incredible grandma to Jackie and Jana. The girls spent many summers at Tish’s pool learning to swim, dive and perfect their summer tans. Birthdays were a special time as each girl had a lunch and shopping trip just with them and Grandma Tish. She also taught them to never give up and be persistent, which is why her nickname of “Tuffy” fit her so well. Tish’s great grandsons, Matthew and Riley, brought her extreme joy. She loved babysitting, volunteering in their classrooms, playing dress up, watching their ballgames and cheering them on. You often heard her yell, “Just a little home run will do!” or, “Do it for Grandma Tish!” She was “Grandma Tish” to many teammates in Selah Little League, AAU Basketball, and the Selah sports programs. She was the best fan a team could ever have. If you didn’t know Tish, you missed out! She taught us all to have fun, dance when the music is playing, eat chocolate at any time of day and finish each day with a glass of wine! Enjoy your life, have fun, love each other. Tish is survived by Penney & David Bachmann and Pattey & John Burry; Jackie & Robert Quincy and Jana & Michael Clark; and great grandsons Riley Quincy & Matthew Quincy. Preceded in death by her husband of 71 years, Richard “Dick” Walker. A Celebration of Life will be held on April 6th at 9:30 AM at Rainier Memorial Center adjacent to Terrace Heights Memorial Park, with reception following. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Pepsi Pak Baseball, Yakima Valley Pepsi Paks, mail to PO Box 821, Selah, WA 98942. Special thanks to the nurses and aides on wing 7 and all the other great care givers at Living Care Health Center for showing such kindness to Tish for the last 2 ½ years