On Monday, July 25, 2022, Conchita Walker, loving wife and mother of four children, passed away at the age of 80 and joined her late husband, Keith Walker, at the Pearly Gates of Heaven.
Conchita was born on May 7, 1942 in San Jose, Costa Rica to Harlow and Concha Newton. She was raised in El Salvador and left at the age of 16 to live with her aunt in the U.S. She always had a passion for helping others and soon volunteered for President Kennedy’s first Peace Corps group in 1962. It was during her Peace Corps training that she met her husband Keith Walker and then married in Ecuador in May of 1963. They went on to have their daughter Tena in Ecuador, and it was after the Peace Corps that they moved to Port Angeles, Wash., when Cliff and Dan were born. Conchita and Keith soon grew restless and moved to Kendall, Australia where their last child, Kali, was born.
After living many years in Australia and enjoying life there they moved back to the U.S. and landed in Mossyrock, Wash. Conchita continued her path of helping others and worked for the visiting nursing association as a CNA.
Keith later got a job in Hoonah, Alaska, so they packed up their family and moved to Alaska. Conchita continued to plant the seeds and developed many projects in Hoonah. She was always trying to make things better for others.
She soon developed a food co-op, opened a toy store in her garage, became the owner of Mary’s Inn cafe and taught young girls cooking classes. While in Alaska she continued to have a calling to volunteer and help others so she did missionary work in Chile, Romania, and Mexico.
She founded a nonprofit school in Queretaro, Mexico, called El Puente de Esperanza and it is still functioning today. After Keith’s retirement from Whitestone Logging they moved to Florence, Ore., and then on to Cottage Grove to be closer to family where she enjoyed visiting her four children, 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
She is survived by her four children, Tena Walker, Cliff Walker, Dan Walker and Kali McCauley. Arrangements in the care of Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel and Crematorium in Cottage Grove.
