EVELYN MARY WALKER

1919 - 2012

MALTA – Evelyn Mary Ryan Hayes Walker, 92, of Malta, Ill., formerly of DeKalb, died Friday, April 6, 2012, at the home of her son, David, in Malta.
Born Aug. 5, 1919, in Willisburg, Ky., the daughter of Glen and Eva (Shewmaker) Ryan, she lived in Kentucky until she was 6, then moved to DeKalb. She married C.W. Hayes on Nov. 14, 1937, in Jeffersonville, Ind., and together they had three sons. Widowed in 1944, she married Harold Ford Walker on Sept. 13, 1947, and lived the rest of her life in the DeKalb area.
Evelyn worked several years at GE, where she was the president of the GE Ladies Club, Suters and Spot Lite Grocery in DeKalb and Malta. She had dinner with future President Ronald Reagan and met President Bill Clinton. A sports fan who enjoyed watching any sporting event on television and live, the Cubs were her favorite team, but she truly loved watching her family compete in any event. While she enjoyed all sports, she was best known as "DeKalb's No. 1 Wrestling Fan." She started following Don Flavin's original team in 1954, cheering on her sons and brother. She continued following DeKalb wrestling, cheering on grandsons, great-grandsons and any wrestler wearing orange and black. She was inducted into the DeKalb Wresting Hall of Fame as a Friend of Wrestling; she missed very few wrestling meets, home or away, for the last 57 years. She enjoyed traveling and visited family in California, Kentucky and Florida. She also traveled to several other states, including Alaska and Hawaii, as well as Mexico, Canada and Ireland. Her additional activities included garage sales, flea markets and watching game shows.
She is survived by two brothers, Dee Ryan and Karl (Wilda) Ryan; three sisters, Barbara Haile, Devola Doll and Ilene Sanders; sister-in-law, Eleanor Ryan; four sons, Marshall Hayes of Malta, Ronald (Carol) Hayes of Roseville, Calif., Kenneth (Marcia) Hayes of Kingston and David (Mary) Walker of Malta; special friend, Bill (Gwen) Forrester of Oquawka; 15 grandchildren, Jeff (LaDonna) Hayes, Marshall "Duke" (Jennifer) Hayes, David "Casey" (Bonnie) Hayes, Shelley (Robert) Hueber, Amy (Rod) Engstrom, Crystal (Cory) Tapia, Travis (Rhondi) Hayes, Tammy (Rob) Tiggelaar, Kathy (Mike) Wood, Kenneth "Kip" (Lisa) Hayes, Tiffany (Chris) Kousoulas, Ryan (Ashley) Hayes, David Walker, Dana (Dennis) Grimm and Dennis (Alice) Walker; 39 great-grandchildren, Spencer, Berkley, Olivia, Isabella, Alexandra, Joel, Sam, Eli, Kelsey, Nate, Noah, Gabrielle, Zach, Alexa, Maya, Derick, Hudson, Morgan, Hayes, Raegan, Hunter, Jason, Shelby, Mattie, Danny, Kiyas, Reed, Miles, Payton, Paxon, Donovan, DeAndra, Devon, Shannon, Ashley, Peyton, Kennedy, Kendell and Dominic; and two great-great-grandchildren, Ayden and Alyvia.
She was preceded in death by her parents; both husbands; three brothers, Johnny, Billy and Glen Jr.; five sisters, Alma, Martha, Naomi, Darlene and Patsy; four brothers-in-law, Albert Bottoms, Wilbur Doll, Bill Sanders and Earl Haile; sister-in-law, Jean Ryan; and loving daughter-in-law, Janice Hayes.
The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 14, at Anderson Funeral Home, DeKalb, with Pastor Judy Giese officiating. Burial will follow at Fairview Park Cemetery, DeKalb. Visitation will be from 3-8 p.m. Friday, April 13, and 10-11 a.m. Saturday at Anderson Funeral Home, DeKalb.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial is being established for Evelyn M. Walker for a wrestling scholarship, in care of Anderson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 605, 2011 S. Fourth St., DeKalb, IL 60115.
For information, visit www.AndersonFuneralHomeLtd.com or call 815-756-1022.