Catherine Walker

Celebration of Life

Catherine Walker

August 22, 1939 – August 24, 2022

Catherine Diane Crist was born on August 22, 1939 in Wenatchee, Washington to her parents Ezra Crist and Ruby Woods Crist. She was the third of four children. She looked up to her older sister Jeaneen and older brother Calvin, and loved caring for her younger brother Ron. As a child in Wenatchee, she was surrounded by the company of her many cousins, aunts, and uncles, and helped her family pick and sell fruit from the pear orchards at their home. During the winter season, she loved to ice skate on the frozen playground of her elementary school. Cathy began taking piano lessons as a young child, and her passion for music continued in high school, where she accompanied numerous high school musicals.

Cathy came to California to attend La Verne College, where she received a BA in Education and her teaching credential. During college, she sang in the a capella choir and a women’s trio, and studied piano and pipe organ. Cathy became acquainted with Phil during their many musical activities, and after dating for over a year, they announced their engagement in the presence of their parents. They were married on August 12,1961 by Phil’s father Robert Walker at the Church of the Brethren in Wenatchee, where Cathy’s family were active members. Cathy and Phil sang a duet, a hymn based on peace, as part of the ceremony.

Phil and Cathy’s first home together was in Laverne. Cathy taught first grade in Covina for one year until Phil was drafted in 1962. As lifetime members of the Church of the Brethren, a church that promoted pacifism, Phil and Cathy accepted an assignment to serve in a civilian capacity through International Voluntary Service in South Vietnam. They taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to high school students for two years, and then returned to California and settled in Fresno.

Cathy was a devoted mother to three children. In 1968 Cathy and Phil adopted their daughter Lynne from Seoul, Korea. Their daughter Brenda was born in 1973 and their son Loren was born two years later. In 1978, Phil and Cathy left the city and moved to Yosemite Lakes Park in Coarsegold to enjoy a rural lifestyle with their young family. Cathy taught piano from her home in the evenings and was a church organist with the Fresno Church of the Brethren. When the children got older, Cathy returned to teaching in Fresno Unified School District where she taught ESL and third grade for 20 years. 

Throughout her life, Cathy was an accomplished pianist, organist, and choral director. She sang in and accompanied several choral groups, including the Fresno Master Chorale and Fresno Choral Artists. She was an organist at the Fresno Church of the Brethren for 15 years and organist and choral director for 30 years at Sierra Vista Presbyterian Church in Oakhurst, California. She was a Board Member of the American Guild of Organists for many years where she also served as Dean. Cathy also initiated and directed several choral groups in the mountain area: Mountain Arts Chorale, Sierra Choral Festival, and the YLP Serenaders.

In 2019, Cathy and Phil sold the home in which they had lived for almost 40 years, and moved to The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens in Fresno. Although this move concluded a 52 year career of teaching piano and organ, Cathy continued to lift others through her music. Most recently, she was a guest organist at University Presbyterian Church, the director of a mixed quartet at The Terraces, the accompanist for the choral group Coro Solare, and the inspiration for spontaneous singalongs with her friends and grandchildren.