Beverly Elaine Walker, 83, of Mount Vernon, Illinois, passed away at 9:13 pm December 31, 2021, at SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Mount Vernon. Beverly worked for District 80 as a teacher’s aide and various other schools and retired from the IRS where she was a supervisor for collections. She was a member of Casey Avenue Baptist Church, Homecoming Gospel Choir, and a Past Senior Saint. Beverly founded and directed Nutrition on Weekends (NOW) Program for kids in the school system. She was a member of B PW and past president of AFSME. Beverly was a member of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Program and part of the all-women construction crew to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. She was a lifelong Mickey Mouse fan.
A Visitation will be held Thursday, January 6, 2022, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Hughey Funeral Home in Mount Vernon, Illinois. A Visitation will be held Friday, January 7, 2022, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am at Hughey Funeral Home in Mount Vernon, Illinois. A Funeral Service will begin at 11:00 am with Reverend Jerry Montgomery and Reverend Phillip Kennedy officiating. Interment will follow at Oakwood Cemetery in Mount Vernon, Illinois. Memorials may be made in Beverly’s honor to NOW (Nutrition on Weekends). Call Hughey Funeral Home at 618-242-3348 or visit hugheyfh.com for further information.
Beverly is survived by her daughters, Elaine Boester and husband, Robert of Centralia, Illinois, Elizabeth “Libby” James and husband, Robert of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Emily Stacey of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Esther Watkins and husband, Gary of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Erin Casteel of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; grandchildren, Katie Schubert and husband, Scott, Amy Jackson and husband, Steven, Jill Knapp and Karl Dotey, Jason Kennedy and wife, Sarah, Phillip Kennedy and wife, Jackie, Sarah Kennedy and spouse, Lauren, Nicole Cooper and husband, Jeff, Daniel James and wife, Mikayla, Oren Stacey, Alyssa Stacey, Tyler Watkins and wife, Alissa, Brittany Watkins, Amanda Thomas and husband, Grant, Holly Casteel; great-grandchildren, Russell Schubert, Brailey Williams, Karl Dotey, Jr., Roman Kennedy, Patrick Kennedy, James Kennedy, Joshua Kennedy, Elizabeth Cooper, Iris Cooper, Emmalyn James, Jon Watkins, Annabelle Watkins, and expected in June, Elliot Kaye James; Brother, Roger A. Neal and wife, Margaret of Danville, Illinois; sisters, Nancy Vogt of Mount Vernon, Illinois, Susan Neal of Mount Vernon, Illinois, Kara Beth Dirks of Mount Vernon, Illinois; and several nieces and nephews.
She was born February 15, 1938, in Akin, Illinois to the late Roger C. and Malinda Katherine (Sneed) Neal. Beverly married Gale Galloway and later married Jesse V. Walker. They both preceded her in death. In addition to her parents and husbands, Beverly was preceded in death by her daughter, Enid Faye Kennedy, and sister, Louise Wolfe.
