Marietta was born on Jan. 15, 1927, in Lattimore, North Carolina, to Forrest and Nellie Crowder, and married the love of her life, Dr. Kerfoot P. Walker Jr., in June, 1957. Together they had three children, Kerfoot P. Walker III "Pete," Amelia Nell Walker Proctor "Amy" and Dr. Christopher Warren Walker "Chris."
She went home to be with Christ, her Lord and Savior, on June 8, 2015.
Marietta was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved caring for her husband and her family, was one of the best cooks in all of Smith County and was an excellent seamstress as well. She had the gift of hospitality, and always had extra food and a clean plate for anyone who stopped by. She and Kerfoot hosted many guests in their home from all walks of life and cared for them all as members of their own family.
Marietta was educated through high school in Lattimore public schools and received a Bachelor of Science in general science from Wake Forest College. She received a Master of Science in biochemistry, and after four years of applying and being rejected for medical school because she was female, was accepted and received a Doctorate of Medicine from Bowman Gray School of Medicine. While studying there, she presented experimental papers on radioactive isotopes to nuclear scientists in Oakridge, Tennessee, and Alamogordo, New Mexico. During medical school, she interned at the Children's Hospital in Saluda, North Carolina, and in the orthopedic section in PA. Marietta's post-graduate internship was at University of Alabama Medical School, Birmingham, Alabama, with work done in the Hillman Clinics and the University Hospital. As God would have it, changes to the intern assignment schedule allowed her to meet Kerfoot.
The Walkers moved to Dallas and both finished Internal Medicine residencies at the Dallas Veterans Hospital. In 1960, they moved to Tyler where Kerfoot began his private internal medicine practice and Marietta remained at home with the children. After five years of intense motherhood, she accepted the position of Smith County Public School Health physician. She rapidly advanced in the American School Health Association and presented innovative school health programs to the national convention in New York. She became the medical director of the Tyler Smith County Health Department, eventually aspiring to medical director of Region 7, Texas Department of Health. She oversaw the expansion of state health care into an intricate health service system for needy women and children throughout Region 7 and eventually Region 10, from the Arkansas border to the Gulf of Mexico. She continued in this position until her retirement in 1995.
The Walkers applied to the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board in their early 30s, only to be turned down because they were "too old"; thus began a lifetime of independent Christian mission trips. In 1968, she and the family drove from Tyler to Mexico City for the 1968 Summer Olympics and the following year they traveled through Mexico to the country of British Honduras (now Belize) to establish a government-sanctioned free medical clinic for the entire Toledo District. Since then, they have frequently traveled around the world, sharing God's love through medical care.
Marietta was instrumental in opening The Holt House for widows and widowers, served as a member of the board of directors of Christian Women's Job Corps and YWAM, and numerous other organizations. She had been a member of Green Acres Baptist Church since moving to Tyler, and she taught Sunday school to young married women for many years. In 2009, she was inducted into The Doctor Luke Society by Bethesda Health Clinic in honor of her years of service to the Lord through her medical profession.
She is survived by husband, Kerfoot; children, Pete and wife Vicki, San Antonio, Amy and husband James, and Chris and wife Tracy, of Tyler; 12 grandchildren, Micah, Bethany, Rachel, Hannah, Lydia, Kert, Kenai, Kemp and Kalle Walker, Jordan Proctor, and Jessica and husband Jordan Vasquez; and two great-grandchildren, Tucker and Hunter Vasquez. She is also survived by her brother, Warren Crowder and wife Nellie, Lattimore; and sister-in-law, Hestermae Nixon and husband Edwin, Bullard.
She went home to be with Christ, her Lord and Savior, on June 8, 2015.
Marietta was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved caring for her husband and her family, was one of the best cooks in all of Smith County and was an excellent seamstress as well. She had the gift of hospitality, and always had extra food and a clean plate for anyone who stopped by. She and Kerfoot hosted many guests in their home from all walks of life and cared for them all as members of their own family.
Marietta was educated through high school in Lattimore public schools and received a Bachelor of Science in general science from Wake Forest College. She received a Master of Science in biochemistry, and after four years of applying and being rejected for medical school because she was female, was accepted and received a Doctorate of Medicine from Bowman Gray School of Medicine. While studying there, she presented experimental papers on radioactive isotopes to nuclear scientists in Oakridge, Tennessee, and Alamogordo, New Mexico. During medical school, she interned at the Children's Hospital in Saluda, North Carolina, and in the orthopedic section in PA. Marietta's post-graduate internship was at University of Alabama Medical School, Birmingham, Alabama, with work done in the Hillman Clinics and the University Hospital. As God would have it, changes to the intern assignment schedule allowed her to meet Kerfoot.
The Walkers moved to Dallas and both finished Internal Medicine residencies at the Dallas Veterans Hospital. In 1960, they moved to Tyler where Kerfoot began his private internal medicine practice and Marietta remained at home with the children. After five years of intense motherhood, she accepted the position of Smith County Public School Health physician. She rapidly advanced in the American School Health Association and presented innovative school health programs to the national convention in New York. She became the medical director of the Tyler Smith County Health Department, eventually aspiring to medical director of Region 7, Texas Department of Health. She oversaw the expansion of state health care into an intricate health service system for needy women and children throughout Region 7 and eventually Region 10, from the Arkansas border to the Gulf of Mexico. She continued in this position until her retirement in 1995.
The Walkers applied to the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board in their early 30s, only to be turned down because they were "too old"; thus began a lifetime of independent Christian mission trips. In 1968, she and the family drove from Tyler to Mexico City for the 1968 Summer Olympics and the following year they traveled through Mexico to the country of British Honduras (now Belize) to establish a government-sanctioned free medical clinic for the entire Toledo District. Since then, they have frequently traveled around the world, sharing God's love through medical care.
Marietta was instrumental in opening The Holt House for widows and widowers, served as a member of the board of directors of Christian Women's Job Corps and YWAM, and numerous other organizations. She had been a member of Green Acres Baptist Church since moving to Tyler, and she taught Sunday school to young married women for many years. In 2009, she was inducted into The Doctor Luke Society by Bethesda Health Clinic in honor of her years of service to the Lord through her medical profession.
She is survived by husband, Kerfoot; children, Pete and wife Vicki, San Antonio, Amy and husband James, and Chris and wife Tracy, of Tyler; 12 grandchildren, Micah, Bethany, Rachel, Hannah, Lydia, Kert, Kenai, Kemp and Kalle Walker, Jordan Proctor, and Jessica and husband Jordan Vasquez; and two great-grandchildren, Tucker and Hunter Vasquez. She is also survived by her brother, Warren Crowder and wife Nellie, Lattimore; and sister-in-law, Hestermae Nixon and husband Edwin, Bullard.
Marietta was born on Jan. 15, 1927, in Lattimore, North Carolina, to Forrest and Nellie Crowder, and married the love of her life, Dr. Kerfoot P. Walker Jr., in June, 1957. Together they had three children, Kerfoot P. Walker III "Pete," Amelia Nell Walker Proctor "Amy" and Dr. Christopher Warren Walker "Chris."
She went home to be with Christ, her Lord and Savior, on June 8, 2015.
Marietta was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved caring for her husband and her family, was one of the best cooks in all of Smith County and was an excellent seamstress as well. She had the gift of hospitality, and always had extra food and a clean plate for anyone who stopped by. She and Kerfoot hosted many guests in their home from all walks of life and cared for them all as members of their own family.
Marietta was educated through high school in Lattimore public schools and received a Bachelor of Science in general science from Wake Forest College. She received a Master of Science in biochemistry, and after four years of applying and being rejected for medical school because she was female, was accepted and received a Doctorate of Medicine from Bowman Gray School of Medicine. While studying there, she presented experimental papers on radioactive isotopes to nuclear scientists in Oakridge, Tennessee, and Alamogordo, New Mexico. During medical school, she interned at the Children's Hospital in Saluda, North Carolina, and in the orthopedic section in PA. Marietta's post-graduate internship was at University of Alabama Medical School, Birmingham, Alabama, with work done in the Hillman Clinics and the University Hospital. As God would have it, changes to the intern assignment schedule allowed her to meet Kerfoot.
The Walkers moved to Dallas and both finished Internal Medicine residencies at the Dallas Veterans Hospital. In 1960, they moved to Tyler where Kerfoot began his private internal medicine practice and Marietta remained at home with the children. After five years of intense motherhood, she accepted the position of Smith County Public School Health physician. She rapidly advanced in the American School Health Association and presented innovative school health programs to the national convention in New York. She became the medical director of the Tyler Smith County Health Department, eventually aspiring to medical director of Region 7, Texas Department of Health. She oversaw the expansion of state health care into an intricate health service system for needy women and children throughout Region 7 and eventually Region 10, from the Arkansas border to the Gulf of Mexico. She continued in this position until her retirement in 1995.
The Walkers applied to the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board in their early 30s, only to be turned down because they were "too old"; thus began a lifetime of independent Christian mission trips. In 1968, she and the family drove from Tyler to Mexico City for the 1968 Summer Olympics and the following year they traveled through Mexico to the country of British Honduras (now Belize) to establish a government-sanctioned free medical clinic for the entire Toledo District. Since then, they have frequently traveled around the world, sharing God's love through medical care.
Marietta was instrumental in opening The Holt House for widows and widowers, served as a member of the board of directors of Christian Women's Job Corps and YWAM, and numerous other organizations. She had been a member of Green Acres Baptist Church since moving to Tyler, and she taught Sunday school to young married women for many years. In 2009, she was inducted into The Doctor Luke Society by Bethesda Health Clinic in honor of her years of service to the Lord through her medical profession.
She is survived by husband, Kerfoot; children, Pete and wife Vicki, San Antonio, Amy and husband James, and Chris and wife Tracy, of Tyler; 12 grandchildren, Micah, Bethany, Rachel, Hannah, Lydia, Kert, Kenai, Kemp and Kalle Walker, Jordan Proctor, and Jessica and husband Jordan Vasquez; and two great-grandchildren, Tucker and Hunter Vasquez. She is also survived by her brother, Warren Crowder and wife Nellie, Lattimore; and sister-in-law, Hestermae Nixon and husband Edwin, Bullard.
She went home to be with Christ, her Lord and Savior, on June 8, 2015.
Marietta was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved caring for her husband and her family, was one of the best cooks in all of Smith County and was an excellent seamstress as well. She had the gift of hospitality, and always had extra food and a clean plate for anyone who stopped by. She and Kerfoot hosted many guests in their home from all walks of life and cared for them all as members of their own family.
Marietta was educated through high school in Lattimore public schools and received a Bachelor of Science in general science from Wake Forest College. She received a Master of Science in biochemistry, and after four years of applying and being rejected for medical school because she was female, was accepted and received a Doctorate of Medicine from Bowman Gray School of Medicine. While studying there, she presented experimental papers on radioactive isotopes to nuclear scientists in Oakridge, Tennessee, and Alamogordo, New Mexico. During medical school, she interned at the Children's Hospital in Saluda, North Carolina, and in the orthopedic section in PA. Marietta's post-graduate internship was at University of Alabama Medical School, Birmingham, Alabama, with work done in the Hillman Clinics and the University Hospital. As God would have it, changes to the intern assignment schedule allowed her to meet Kerfoot.
The Walkers moved to Dallas and both finished Internal Medicine residencies at the Dallas Veterans Hospital. In 1960, they moved to Tyler where Kerfoot began his private internal medicine practice and Marietta remained at home with the children. After five years of intense motherhood, she accepted the position of Smith County Public School Health physician. She rapidly advanced in the American School Health Association and presented innovative school health programs to the national convention in New York. She became the medical director of the Tyler Smith County Health Department, eventually aspiring to medical director of Region 7, Texas Department of Health. She oversaw the expansion of state health care into an intricate health service system for needy women and children throughout Region 7 and eventually Region 10, from the Arkansas border to the Gulf of Mexico. She continued in this position until her retirement in 1995.
The Walkers applied to the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board in their early 30s, only to be turned down because they were "too old"; thus began a lifetime of independent Christian mission trips. In 1968, she and the family drove from Tyler to Mexico City for the 1968 Summer Olympics and the following year they traveled through Mexico to the country of British Honduras (now Belize) to establish a government-sanctioned free medical clinic for the entire Toledo District. Since then, they have frequently traveled around the world, sharing God's love through medical care.
Marietta was instrumental in opening The Holt House for widows and widowers, served as a member of the board of directors of Christian Women's Job Corps and YWAM, and numerous other organizations. She had been a member of Green Acres Baptist Church since moving to Tyler, and she taught Sunday school to young married women for many years. In 2009, she was inducted into The Doctor Luke Society by Bethesda Health Clinic in honor of her years of service to the Lord through her medical profession.
She is survived by husband, Kerfoot; children, Pete and wife Vicki, San Antonio, Amy and husband James, and Chris and wife Tracy, of Tyler; 12 grandchildren, Micah, Bethany, Rachel, Hannah, Lydia, Kert, Kenai, Kemp and Kalle Walker, Jordan Proctor, and Jessica and husband Jordan Vasquez; and two great-grandchildren, Tucker and Hunter Vasquez. She is also survived by her brother, Warren Crowder and wife Nellie, Lattimore; and sister-in-law, Hestermae Nixon and husband Edwin, Bullard.
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