Elizabeth H Walker

ELIZABETH HEWLETT WALKER Elizabeth Hewlett Walker, 94 years old, died peacefully on May 15, 2018, at her home in Pineville, N.C. Born in Wilmington, N.C., to Herbert Wright Hewlett and Katie Joyner Hewlett, she was the younger sister of Kay Hewlett Balkcum. Growing up in Wilmington, her family and friends called her by her first name, Mary. When she met the love of her life, Jimmy Walker, at the U.S. Army Base, Camp Davis, Holly Ridge, N.C. while the two were working there in 1941, he gave her the name she would be known by most of her life, Lib. Lib and Jimmy were engaged in 1943, but the marriage was delayed until he returned from India, after flying the Himalaya mountains (the "Hump") in the U.S. Army Air Transport Command. They were wed 1944 in Wilmington, and had a year-long honeymoon, as they often said, when Jimmy was a pilot instructor at Reno Army Air Base. Weekly parties at the officers club and regular ski trips to the mountains, were part of the nearly one year spent in Reno. They returned to Wilmington where they lived until 1949, when they moved to Charlotte. Here they raised their three children, with swimming meets being a major part of family life. Jimmy passed away in 1971, but Lib continued to live in their family home until 2012. Lib retired from a rewarding career with General Electric, where she met many fine friends. Surviving Lib are her three children, sons Larry (Janice), Jay (Barbara), daughter Sharon Hovis; seven grandchildren, Tiffany Tomberlin, Amber Baglio (Justin), Kelly Burton (Anthony), Shawn Walker, Raven Welsh (Nate), Justin and Rose Hovis; seven great-grandchildren, Savannah, Emma, Jackson, Charleston, Abbie, Lily and Walker; and numerous nieces and nephews. One great-grandson, Liam, was stillborn. Longtime dear friends Donna Crim, Daphine Reeves, Debbie Podevyn, Carmen VanOrsouw, Kat Speight, and Doris Lewis, held a special place in Lib's heart. Next to the love she had for family and friends, her greatest joy and excitement was traveling. Lib traveled the world, many times. Her favorite place was Switzerland, which she likened to a visual paradise of beauty. Sharp of mind and wit until the day she passed, she said she didn't need a camera to take pictures of the beautiful scenes she'd beheld, and would tap her head with a finger and say, "They are all up here." A devout Christian, she was a life-long Episcopalian, and was last a member of St. Andrews Episcopal Church, until it closed. Lib was a voracious reader, a devoted Tar Heels basketball fan and pro tennis fan. Her last residence was The Dorchester in Pineville, which she loved, where she made new friends and was involved in Bible study and book club. Her ashes will be interred with Jimmy at the National Cemetery in Wilmington in August, in a private family service. A matriarch of great love and affection, strong will, and staunch independence, she will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved her, but we are comforted in the knowledge she has gained her Heavenly reward, and is celebrating with Jimmy and other loved ones gone before. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or Garinger Education Foundation. Rest in Peace, our dear Mamma.