Mary Margaret Walker

Her name was Mary but everyone called her Mollie. She was born in Ft. Worth, Texas on September 2, 1902 and was the oldest of 6 children of James Gibson and Margaret Jane Garvin Walker. She went to Kerens High School and then to business school in Waco, Texas and she was planning on becoming a nun until her father died in 1924 when she then had to go to work to help support the family. She worked as an auditor for Navarro County for many years and worked in the Navarro county courthouse in Corsicana, Texas.

She was tiny and kind and considerate and caring and I honestly never remember her saying a bad word about anyone. She never married but had many nieces and nephews that she loved as her own. She had a pink gingham dress that I adored and I will never forget her wearing; it was my all time favorite. She was fun and funny and when she came to visit, she always had Juicy Fruit gum in her purse and I remember being so excited about receiving a piece from her.

One time when I was little, she and I made a cake from scratch and forgot to put baking soda in it and it weighed about 20 pounds and tasted terrible. She felt so bad about it and I remember trying to eat it but it was so very bad it was impossible to consume. She never thought she was much of a cook but she could make a mean pot of spaghetti and meatballs. She loved Dr. Pepper and she called it pepper and she would go to a place in Corsicana to buy her DP in small bottles that came in a wooden box. I found that enchanting.

I can still remember what she smelled like and although I can’t describe it; it was heavenly. When I was little I loved to play in her closet and clomp around in her shoes and carry her purses and play “apartment” upstairs at 212. And although that house scared the bageezez out of me, I loved to explore every nook and cranny of it. One time (one of many times) Melanie and I talked her into taking us up to the attic and we found this big wooden quilt box that looked like it had dead bodies in it and for a short period of time we were concerned that she and Nina had a very terrible secret. Of course, we later found out that the “dead bodies” were rolled up quilts, covered with other quilts, and that neither of our aunts were murderers. We were very relieved. We had very active imaginations.

I was named after her but I’m not sure I’ve ever had her demeanor. Mollie is also named after her as well. She made her mark on the hearts of many people and when she graduated to heaven on June 15, 1990 at the age of 87, she left a hole in our family that really no one could fill. I still miss her. She was a delight.