I had spent some time with Cherie Walker, and was thinking about some of the things we talked about. So I wrote down some notes about Cherie so that she is not soon forgotten.
Pastor Jody <><
An Exceptional Woman—Cherie Walker
There was once an exceptional woman born outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. She was the only girl in a family with three brothers, which automatically made her a princess.
She was a country girl at heart, and when the family moved to Morgan Town, she was so good in her studies that she moved up a grade, while her brother was moved down a grade. She was happy, her brother was not.
As a young woman she always wanted to be friends with everyone, and she did very well in that endeavor. She easily graduated High School and even earned a scholarship but was told by her parents that the only reason a woman should go to college was to get a husband.
She started working as a policy writer and she was good at it. When a friend wanted to take an accounting class at night but did not want to go alone, this exceptional woman went along, because that is what friends do.
It was in this class that she met a man. “Therein lies the catch,” she said. “I thought he was very good looking, but my grandmother thought I could do better.”
They were married in 1955 after only six months of knowing each other. This exceptional woman’s husband had talent that was recognized by his company and the family moved to California in 1960 to help build a factory. “It was a magic time, as we hitched our wagon to a star and came west.”
Living in West Sacramento, while he built a factory, she knew that her family needed insurance, so she went to work for an insurance company first as an agent, then as a contractor.
Life was good as their sons grew up playing sports just like their father. And her son told her more than once, “You’re an angel.”
When speaking about the Lord in her life she said, “You have to be lost before you can be found. I found the Lord when I was seventeen and I have been in love with the Lord for a very long time.”
But in every life, there are black clouds and dark places that we must travel through. And this exceptional woman’s dark clouds came in the form of serious health issues.
But even where there is darkness, light has a way of breaking through. In the darkest of times, her family and friends could see her light shine with a strength very few of us possess.
She did not complain, she would not whine or grumble, she accepted her lot in life like the hero she was. In all of these things, she said, “I love the people at church, every one of them.”
And I would let them know, “Yes, I am at peace. All in all, it has been a pretty good 86 years.”
Only an exceptional woman could have accomplished all these things, and that exceptional woman was Cherie Walker, our friend.
FROM THE SECOND CHAIR
I had spent some time with Cherie Walker, and was thinking about some of the things we talked about. So I wrote down some notes about Cherie so that she is not soon forgotten.
Pastor Jody
