Eva Mae Walker, 90

Eva Mae Walker died peacefully in her sleep with her family surrounding her. Eva was born on March 7, 1928, in Kellogg, Idaho, to Robert Louis Ashley and Florence Luella Ashley. She was the youngest of three children. She spent her holidays with her grandparents in Hayden Lake, Idaho. When she was 12 years old, she moved to Hayden Lake permanently.

She was an athletic girl and played high school basketball. Her first job was at the Farragut Naval Base, where she worked in the laundry and then as a telephone operator. At 16, she began dating Melvin Walker. One evening, Mel promised that they would marry when the war was over. While they sat in a movie theater a few days later, they learned the war had ended. They married soon afterward.

Over the course of their married life they left Idaho to work, but always made their way back home. In the mid-1950s they opened Hayden Electric. Eva handled the business end of Hayden Electric’s operations. When Mel needed a part, she’d pack the car full of kids and make her way to Spokane, Wash. In the 1980s, Eva and Mel moved to the Lewiston, Idaho, area, and for 20 years they built and remodeled homes — until 2017 when they returned to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to live.

Eva was a member of the Confederate Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation. She was proud of her heritage and greatly enjoyed attending local powwows.

Eva’s family was her life’s work. She and Mel celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary this year. Next to family, Eva loved her baseball. She could often be found in her living room cheering on the Mariners. Lastly, she loved her little dog, Oliver.

Eva will be sorely missed by her surviving family, which includes her husband, Melvin Walker; her children, Steven Walker and his wife Betty, Marilyn Willard and her husband Bill, Thomas Walker and his wife Terri, Wesley Walker and his wife Stacy, Kelly Walker and his wife Teresa, and William Walker and his wife Eileen; her grandchildren, Greg Willard, Shane Walker, Jeremy Willard, Jesse Willard, Sarah Skeel, Travis Walker, Michael Willard, Jessica Frank, Melissa Thompson, Laura Hansen, Thomas Walker, Jonathan Walker, Katie Walker, Trevor Walker, Andrew Walker and Joseph Walker; and her 21 great-grandchildren.

A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018, at Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens, 7315 N. Government Way, Coeur d’Alene, ID. A reception will follow at Red Lion Hotel Templin’s on The River in Post Falls from 2 to 5 p.m. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the ALS Association (ALSA.org).

Yates Funeral Home is entrusted with final arrangements. Please visit Eva’s online memorial and sign her guest book at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.