Madeline Lee Walker

MATTIE LEE WALKER, daughter of the late Nathaniel and Mary A. Bunch, was born on August 4, 1925 in Wake County, North Carolina. She departed this life on February 7, 2006, after a brief illness. Mattie Lee received her formal education in the public schools of Wake County. She was raised by her grandparents, and it was from them that she learned the fine art of cooking. Mattlie, as she was so affectionately called by her family and friends, moved to Baltimore during the mid forties. Upon her arrival, she was hired by the Department of Defense and worked as an ammunitions clerk at Fort George G. Meade Army Base. After the war, she was employed by Bugle Laundry, for a short while. Mattlie soon realized that cooking was her passion, and changed her career goals to that direction. She used the basics her grandparents had taught her and attended culinary school, where her skills where refined. After completion, she worked as a short-order cook for various restaurants in the Maryland area, among which were Howard Johnson's, Days Inn, and the Hecht Company, She received many accolades for her achievements. In 1977, Mattlie became one of the original cooks for the famous Phillips Seafood Restaurant, from which she eventually retired. Mattlie met Louis Edward Walker at the USO where she often volunteered her time as a hostess. They fell in love and in October 1954 made vows to each other in the sanctity of marriage. She enjoyed children, and not having any of her own, she opened the doors of her heart and home to help raise a number of foster children. She was a determined woman who touched the lives of many friends. She also enjoyed taking short trips to New Jersey and playing Bingo at the local Bingo Halls. Mattlie will forever exist in the minds of her family and friends. She leaves to cherish her memory: a loving and dedicated companion, Elwood Adams; four sisters, Geraldine Moore, Dorothy Marie Powe, Patricia Ann Bunch, Deborah Denise Roberts; one brother, Willie Bunch; one sister-in-law, Antoinette Bunch; one brother-in-law, Clifton Roberts; nieces, nephews, and a host of other family and friends.

Tributes

Madeline Lee Walker

August 4, 1925 - February 7, 2006