Cathlin D. Walker

Cathlin D. Walker was born November 4, 1942 to James and Bessie Buchanan in Winston Salem, North Carolina, who both preceded her in death. Also preceding her in death are her siblings, Rebecca, Harriet, Marie, and George, and grandson, Dominick.

As a young child, Cathlin and her family moved to Maywood, Illinois where she attended Proviso East High School. She was united in marriage to James Lee Dawson who preceded her in death. To this union, three children were born, Danita (Danny) Griffin, Lorita (Alvin) Wells, and James (Janice) Dawson.

In 1978, Cathy moved with her children to Covert, Michigan. Cathy was employed in the Covert Public School system where she served dutifully for thirty years before retiring in 2010. During her years of service with the school system, she was instrumental in helping to make all the school elections a success by working tirelessly soliciting absentee voters. She was also the Cheerleading Coach for the High School for several years. She had a love for children that extended into the summer months where she worked in the Bangor Migrant Summer School Program.

Cathy was a member of the Covert Community Church. She was also a member of the Red Hat Society and Sunday’s Best Book Club. Cathy served on the board of directors for the Alvine A. Grice Scholarship Foundation. After her retirement in 2010, she became a Mary Kay consultant. In her leisure, she enjoyed spending time with her dear friends, Norma Webb and Linda Yancey playing various card games, bowling, and volunteering at the library.

She will be remembered for her quiet strength. Her character and temperament can best be shown from the time she was diagnosed with stage four cancer back in September of 2015 until her passing into Heaven. Cathlin had every right to cry, be mad, or even fall into depression after her diagnosis, but instead she loved and lived every moment she was given, neither hard time nor cancer would rob her of who she was. Always graceful, until God called her home. That moment came on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at William J. Riley Memorial Residence in Munster, Indiana.

In addition to her three children, Cathlin Walker leaves to cherish her memory, six brothers, Reginald, Stanley, James, Sylvester, Ronald, and Bryant; three sisters, Joliet, Barbara, and Constance; two granddaughters, Tori and Erica; two grandsons, Ian (Shana) and Dimitris, three great-granddaughters, McKenzie, Jordan, and Ryan, and a host of loving nieces and nephews and special friend, Mary Twyman.