Helen Ruth Victor Walker

Her parents, Louis Victor and Martha Kelly Victor, and her siblings, Joseph, Adam, Janie Marie, Marvin, Eugene, and Louise, welcomed Helen Ruth on March 5, 1943, in Welsh, Louisiana. The family later included younger siblings, Leonard, Thelma, and Eva. They lived among extended family and friends, who had settled in the town since the late 1800s. Sometimes between 1944 and 1945, her family moved to Beaumont, Texas, where they lived until late in 1948.

In Beaumont and Welsh, Helen Ruth grew among people where familial love extended throughout their community. She was baptized at Jones Methodist Episcopal Church (now Jones United Methodist), in Welsh, where her Mother's family were among its founders. She attended Welsh Rosenwald Elementary School, Jeff Davis High School in Jennings, Louisiana, and graduated from Bethune High School in Welsh.

Among her many achievements, she was a standout basketball player, an honor student, and a pianist. She graduated as salutatorian of her 1961 class; then attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, majoring in Physical Education. Without access to loans/grants during that time period, Helen moved to Detroit to earn money for her last semester. As the demands of life would have it, she could not complete college. When she returned to Welsh in 1968, she worked as a substitute teacher at Bethune High School.

A consummate athlete and lover of sports, Helen joined the Welsh women's softball league. She was a swimmer; and, throughout her adult life, she remained an avid college and professional basketball enthusiast. As well, Helen loved bowling. She participated in three different bowling leagues in Los Angeles. As a member of the "Terrific 10 Club," Helen with family and friends organized a basketball team and engaged in other recreational activities. In retirement, she returned to Louisiana and continued bowling with a league in Lake Charles.

In mid-1968, she responded to her brother Leonard's request to join him and his wife, Joyce, in California. On June 15, 1969, Helen married John L. Walker, Sr., in Los Angeles; and four years later, their family expanded with a son, John (JJ) Walker. The family later welcomed Turina Walker, Donte Walker, and Louis Walker. Helen became an active member of Faith United Methodist Church (Los Angeles), where she sang in the choir and regularly served as a scripture reader. Since being back in Louisiana, Helen rejoined Jones United Methodist Church in Welsh until she moved to Lake Charles, where she became a member of University United Methodist Church.

Helen worked as a teller supervisor and secretary at Security National Bank, as a supervisor at Check Services, both in Compton, California, and as a cashier at Long Beach Navy Credit Union. Returning to Louisiana, she established a neighborhood store in Welsh, and worked in various capacities at L'Auberge, Isle of Capri, Golden Nugget, and Delta Downs Casino and Racetrack.

We believe that Helen's parents, Louis and Martha, her sister, Janie Marie, her brothers, Thomas, Harry, Joseph, Adam, Marvin, Eugene, and Leonard; paternal grandparents Valdry and Louise Victor Gabriel, maternal grandparents, Eugene and Jennie White Kelly, aunts, and uncles welcomed her in paradise on Friday, February 9, 2024.

Those who love her on this side of life, who feel her enduring spirit are: her beloved children and their spouses, John (Machone); Turina (Christopher Boyd), Donté (Amber Deville), and Louis (Ashley Dargin); her grandchildren who stole her heart, Loryn Walker and Xavier Walker; her sisters Mae Louise, Thelma, and Eva; her godchild, Martha Raye Indermill, her nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends and co-workers.