Earleen E. Walker

Earleen E. Walker

March 26, 1938 – April 22, 2022

God brought Home Earleen Edgerton Walker to join Him in His Heavenly Kingdom on Friday, April 22nd at the age of 84 surrounded by family at her home of 36 years in Omaha, Nebraska.

Earleen is remembered for her boundless love and appreciation for her family, her passionate devotion to her caring husband Keith and her long-fulfilled dream of being a mom, a grandma and most recently, a great-grandma.

To have known and loved Earleen Walker was to have been comforted by the depths of her big, beautiful heart, to understand the joy of watching little ornery kids swim in the pool and to believe wholeheartedly in the Nebraska Cornhuskers (no matter what). She knew that what makes life meaningful is the joy you experience and the way you make people feel loved, held and always welcome.

Earleen was the eighth born to Myrtle (Ellsworth) & Earl Lloyd Edgerton on March 26, 1938, in Pawnee City, Nebraska. ​​She and her nine siblings attended a school in the country west of Pawnee. In 1942 their father passed away, and they moved into town.

Earleen spoke so highly of her childhood and fondly of her years growing up with her mama in Pawnee. She enjoyed revisiting their family home–the site of so many wonderful memories. Pawnee City was even the destination for two of the infamous Edgerton family reunions.

Earleen cherished her siblings–they were her best and closest friends. After graduation from Pawnee City High School in 1956, Earleen moved to Omaha and lived in an apartment with her sisters Yvonne and Janice.

Earleen loved growing up in a house full of brothers and sisters, and she dreamt of having children of her own. Her dream came true when she was blessed with four beautiful children–Steven Michael, Robin Lynne, Melonie Dawn and Michelle Lynnae–while married to James (Jim) Franklin Walker from 1957 to 1975.

Earleen worked at Crown Rubber and Tip Top before getting a job at Kellogg’s where she worked from 1974 until her retirement in 1994.

Earleen had known of Keith Walker, who also worked at Kellogg’s, but when they met, she said it was love at first sight–she had found her soulmate. Keith took Earleen out dancing for their first date at the Nashville Club in Council Bluffs.

They were married on Saturday, July 13th, 1977, at 7:30 in the evening at Faith Westwood United Methodist Church in Omaha. With her marriage to Keith, Earleen was blessed with two more children who she loved dearly–Loretta Marie and Pam Louise.

Earleen and Keith lived together in Millard on 6210 Ponderosa Drive until 1986 when they moved just up the road to a new house and stayed for 36 wonderful years. They installed a pool in the backyard two years later, and that pool became the centerpiece of countless summers, family barbeques, holidays, celebrations and everyday moments–teaching grandkids to swim and capturing swan dives on the camcorder.

If you knew Earleen, you knew she was often found behind a camera or video camera, recording each and every laugh, milestone and precious memory. Her family continues to re-watch those home movies and flip through albums of photos together in the living room.

She enjoyed a good adventure and traveling with her family. She loved cruises and taking her kids on roadtrips to Disney World and her grandkids to Adventureland and Worlds of Fun. She said her favorite trip was to Hawaii in 1982 when she and Keith traveled to see the Huskers play the University of Hawaii (a game they won 32 to 17).

Earleen also loved her ice cream. She would often stop at Goodrich to get a cone filled with either Butter Pecan or Black Walnut, but when it closed down, she began to bring home Breyers Natural Vanilla. She would also spoil her grandkids with trips to Dairy Queen and then take them to watch the airplanes take off and land at the nearby Millard airport.

Another hallmark of Earleen Walker was best described by her customized license plate that read: DOLLKRAZ. Earleen had an extensive doll collection and loved attending doll shows and finding new ones to admire.

Earleen is survived by her devoted husband Keith Walker, son Steven (Laurie) Walker, daughters Loretta (Gene) Martin, Pam (Ron) Adler, Melonie (Robert) Burton, Michelle (Ray) Christo, twelve grandchildren, twelve great-grandchildren, sisters Marilyn Rotha, Yvonne (Dale) Huff, Janice (Gary) Habegger and Joyce (Wayne) Brunz, sister-in-law Betty Edgerton as well as many nieces and nephews.

Earleen’s family finds comfort knowing she lived a complete and happy life filled with all the love and joy this world could offer as well as countless happy memories–from watching her six children find love to holding her great-grandbabies for the first time. Her legacy lives on through the many people she cared for and taught the true meaning of unconditional and unwavering love, positivity, patience and faith.

Earleen’s family finds peace knowing she finally got her wish to go Home and that she was welcomed with open arms by her mama Myrtle, her dad and namesake Earl, her daughter Robin Kalina Hurlbutt, her sisters Virginia (Lyle) Willert, Carolyn (Don) Karlberg and Phyllis (Marvin) Johnson and her brothers Guyles and Donald (Mary Kay) Edgerton.

Earleen and the way she lived and loved life will forever be remembered by so many who are better for knowing her and grateful to learned from such a special and caring woman.

The family will receive friends on Monday, April 25 at West Center Chapel from 11 am -1 pm with a Memorial Service at 1 pm.

To view a live broadcast of the Memorial Service, please go to www.heafeyheafey.com and click the “View Live Cast” button on the home page.