Margaret Louise Walker

Margaret Louise Pollock Walker passed away peacefully on Jan. 26, 2014, at the Luther Park community in Sandpoint, Idaho, in the company of loved ones. She was 97. She was born on Dec. 28, 1916, to Fred Hayes Pollock and Hazel Marie Copeland Pollock at their Missouri farmhouse just south of Blanchard, Iowa. She was the first of four children. A precocious student, she graduated from Missouri’s Westboro High School by 16 and then studied at Clarinda Junior College in Clarinda, Iowa. There, she met 18-year-old Harlan Powers Walker. Upon his arrival for their first date, a semiformal dance, Harlan presented her with a tea rose corsage, and she quickly fell head over heels in love. She and Harlan enjoyed a courtship of more than three years, forestalling marriage until their education was complete. Margaret earned spending money by giving fashionable haircuts and finger waves to neighbors and relatives, usually for 25 cents. Margaret and Harlan were married on June 26, 1937, in Hamburg, Iowa. They settled in Des Moines, where Harlan worked as an embalmer. After Margaret finished cosmetology school, she went to work as a beautician, and they started a family. They had four children, all boys. The couple went on to celebrate 62 years of marriage and always considered themselves best friends. Though she lost both of her parents when she was 26, Margaret emerged with a challenged but ultimately renewed faith that stayed with her for the rest of her life. Proverbs 3 was a favorite of hers: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding.” In 1947, a new chapter began when Harlan persuaded Margaret, never the outdoors type, to move their family to northern Idaho following his wartime assignment to Farragut naval base. They acquired 800 acres and 63 old buildings in Talache, an abandoned mining town with a big lodge and magnificent view of Lake Pend Oreille, and turned it into a fishing resort. “We put every nickel we could raise into that place, and we didn’t have the faintest idea what we were doing,” Margaret recalled. “I found an old cookstove that the miners had spit tobacco juice on for years, and I had to learn to cook on it.” Before long, the lodge was hosting guests from all over the world, and Margaret’s famous Sunday smorgasbord drew hundreds of people at a time. They sold the resort in 1959, and the family moved to Syringa Heights in Sandpoint. Margaret engaged fully in civic pursuits, notably Beta Sigma Phi, Philanthropic Educational Organization International, the Freemasons Order of the Eastern Star Martha Chapter No. 34, the American Cancer Society and the Sandpoint Civic Club. Margaret had learned to talk quite early in childhood, and she brought that special skill to her role as hostess with Welcome Wagon International in particular. She enjoyed venturing into the hinterlands of northern Idaho, bearing a gaily decorated gift basket for new arrivals. “There’s a surprise element that is fun,” she said. “I can talk with anyone.” Presentation also was important to Margaret. Neat as a pin, she expected the same from others, and when they fell short she did not hesitate to engage in gentle verbal jousting. Those who knew her inevitably found themselves on the receiving end of a devastatingly aimed barb, often concerning hairstyle or attire. (“Good night, nurse, would you get rid of that dumb hat!”) Margaret brought her impeccable sense of order to everything around her; she was especially drawn to flowers. She was in charge of the floral arrangements at the First Presbyterian Church of Sandpoint for many years. A member of the church for more than six decades, Margaret also served as an elder and taught Sunday school. After Harlan retired in 1979, the couple decided to travel by trailer. They enjoyed it so much that they spent much of the following 15 years on the road, seeing every state as well as Canada and Mexico. Her favorites were Arizona and southwestern Montana. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harlan; her three siblings, Kenneth Pollock, John “Jake” Pollock and Pearl McGuiness; and her son Steve. She is survived by her sons Gordon (Sandie), of Seattle; Dennis, of Seattle; and Greg (Betsy), of Sandpoint; partner Lyle Campbell, of Sandpoint; 10 grandchildren; and 5 great-grandchildren. She also remained loyal to her former daughters-in-law. Donations can be made to the First Presbyterian Church, 417 N. Fourth Ave., Sandpoint ID 83864. A memorial celebration of Margaret’s life is planned for the spring in Sandpoint.