In Loving Memory of Freddie Mae (Freida) Walker
Born in Atlanta, GA, to Fannie Mae Gipson and Frederick Douglas Peterson, who both passed in her early childhood. She and her brother Frederick Jr. placed in foster care and placed in by Mrs. Maude Bell, in Milford, Ohio, near Cincinnati. Freida married Leslie Stallworth and moved to Seattle in 1941. They had a daughter. Leathia.
She attended Kentucky State University, earning a Business Skills Certification, and the foundation was laid for her life’s work as an Income Tax Accountant.
Arriving in the Northwest, she worked for the Naval Housing Authority, in Bremerton, WA. and became active in the civil rights movement, working alongside, former Judge Charles Stokes. She started her tax business on the side in 1942.
Beautiful inside and out, Freida loved “getting sharp” for any occasion and was well known for her style. Yet, she was just as comfortable going fishing, hunting, and working in her yard. She could do it all.
She married James C. Kirksey in the early 1950’s, and they had three daughters together, Oneida, Theresa, and Cecilia. She worked for City of Seattle and Seattle University before turning full time to raising her growing family and her business. Freida was a great cook and known for her hospitality. She showcased her talents at Seattle’s famous Birdland, in its heyday, and hosted many celebrities, in her home who passed through, including Ray Charles and The Drifters.
She was married to Milton Conley (deceased) in the early sixties, and they lived briefly in Ephrata, WA.
In 1964 Freida met and married her partner for life, James Willie Walker, and they remained married until he passed away, in 2000. They had a daughter Carmen (deceased) and son, James Jr. completing her wish for a large family with lots of kids.
An avid traveler, she traveled the country, looking to find lost family, visit her extended family and network of friends, and doing work for her beloved Martha Grand Chapter, Order of Eastern Star, New Orleans, LA. She rose to national recognition within the organization, and she founded her own chapter in Seattle, Climbing Roses #126, and brought together other chapters in Tacoma and Bremerton.
She felt at home in any church that worshipped the Lord, no matter the size, location, or denomination. Freida spread Love to all who were blessed to cross her path. She was the angel who especially ministered to the old, less fortunate, and the underdog.
Extremely patriotic, Freida was a proud Democrat and union supporter. She took voting very seriously and wouldn’t trust anyone to take her ballot to the drop box. It was her great joy to attend Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration, in 2008, and to see the first Black president elected.
After 68 years, and hundreds of clients, she retired Walkers Income Tax, in 2010. It had grown into a thriving business serving the entire community, run from her home office on 29th & Pine, in the Central Area, where she resided for 58 years.
Loved by old and young alike, people of all races, people who sit high and low in society, all felt better after listening to what she had to say, and the wisdom she shared. Her zest for life was inspirational, and she was an open-minded free thinker, who was also firmly grounded in traditional values, God, Family, a Service, and Country.
Preceded in death by her husband of 35 years, James W Walker, Sr. youngest daughter Carmen Walker, parents Fannie Mae and Frederick Douglas Peterson, and brother, Robert Jerome Peterson
Survived by her, Brother Frederick Douglas Peterson, Jr. (Elida), Gilbert, AZ
Children, Leathia Stallworth-Krasucki, Oneida Kirksey, Theresa Kirksey (Leon Glover), Cecilia Kirksey (Dr. Charles Sutton), Port Republic, MD, James Walker, Jr. (Jacarae Fairbanks), Puyallup, WA
Neices, Yolanda Brown (Leon), Mission Viejo, CA, Cynthia Jackson, Rosemary Buckner, Long Beach CA and their respective families.
Grandchildren, Ryan Blassingame (Beverly), Rhodell Richardson, Luther Mitchell-Walker, Antwan Porter (Treicy Castillo), Jamila Walker, Theresa Briggs, Portland, OR, Elan Walker, Brigitte Walker, (Nasir Ford)
Great-Grandchildren, Trevon Blassingame, Rico (Ricardo) Blassingame, Ryan Blassingame, Jenessey Walker, Amaree Young, Aubrey Richardson, Legacy Richardson.
She resided in the Central District
