Paula Walker

Paula Jeanne (Lippincott) Walker, 87, of Portage, MI, passed away on Friday, January 18, 2019, at Rose Arbor Hospice shortly after being diagnosed with liver cancer. Paula was born on November 10, 1931, in Doylestown, PA, the daughter of Chester Yerkes Lippincott and Pauline Wolfe Lippincott. She was a graduate of Doylestown High School (1949), the University of Pennsylvania College of Liberal Arts for Women (Phi Beta Kappa, 1953), Western Michigan University with a master of science in librarianship (Beta Phi Mu, 1975), and took many additional classes at Kalamazoo College and WMU, including literature and languages (Greek, Welsh, and Gaelic). Paula was a member of the Kalamazoo chapter of the American Recorder Society for many years, as well as a smaller ensemble group called Wind Works. She was a member of various choral groups, the Friends of Upper Arlington Library (treasurer) and a James Thurber House volunteer (Columbus, OH), treasurer of the Kalamazoo Caledonians, and a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Kalamazoo. Paula held various part-time positions with the Portage Public Library as a substitute librarian (1981-1982), the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research as a cataloguer in their special library and proofreader (1979-1982), and the Kalamazoo Public Library as a cataloger of special projects as well as substitute librarian (1975-1982). Before moving to Michigan, Paula worked part-time as a lay reader for the English department of the Union Free School District-East Aurora Public Schools, and as secretary to the controller at Fisher-Price Toys in East Aurora, NY; secretary to the general presbyter at the Presbytery of Western New York in Buffalo, NY; church secretary and financial secretary at Doylestown Presbyterian Church in Doylestown, PA; editorial assistant at L.W. Singer Publishing Co., Syracuse, NY; and in the cataloguing department of the University of Pennsylvania Library. Paula married George "Gene" E. Walker in April 1953. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in 2018. Although originally from Flint, MI, George was living in Bucks County, PA, when they met. After residing there for several years, George and Paula moved to Syracuse, NY, then Buffalo, NY, Pittsburg, PA, and Schoolcraft, MI, where they lived until 1982. They moved to Columbus, OH, in 1982 and returned to Michigan in 1986, residing in Mattawan for 14 years, and then Portage. Paula had a great sense of humor and many interests. She loved singing, playing, and listening to music, reading, nature, bird watching, gardening, traveling, and life-long learning. She maintained a vast collection of books, all catalogued, hundreds of which she recently donated to the Free Library of Philadelphia's Children's Literature Research Collection. She loved vacations on Walloon Lake, writing detailed travel memoirs about her many trips with George and their children, and her dogs (especially the English bulldogs and Boston terriers). Paula is survived by her husband George, daughter Allison Walker (Newtown, PA), son Andrew Walker (wife Carolyn) and their children Evan, Liam, and Patrick (Berwyn, PA), grandson Lloyd J. Bird (wife Lizz) and daughter Tara, grandson Cory D. Bird (wife Lori) and family, niece Suzy Nagle Hesse (husband Calvin) and their family, and nephew Malcolm Nagle. Paula was preceded in death by her daughter, Jennifer Walker (-Knight, - Thompson, -Bird), her nephew Christopher Nagle, her parents and her two sisters, Mary Alice Lippincott and Ruth Lippincott Nagle. The family wishes to give special thanks to the nurses, nurses' aides, doctors, and physician's assistants at Bronson Lakeview Hospital (Paw Paw, MI) and Rose Arbor Hospice (Kalamazoo, MI) for their support and tender care of Paula during the last 3 weeks of her life. They made accepting her sudden decline, diagnosis, and passing more bearable. Following her wishes, cremation has taken place and a memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at a later date, to be announced. Interment of her ashes will be in Doylestown Cemetery later this year. For those who would like to make charitable donations in her memory, Paula supported the Humane Society of the United States, Audubon, PETA, and various animal sanctuaries. Please visit Paula's personalized webpage and guest book at www.avinkcremation.com to share a condolence message or memory.