Jack and Jolene Walden Sr.

Graveside services for Jack O’Neal and Jolene Morris Walden, Sr. will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, at the Lakeview Cemetery in Sandpoint, ID. Father Rob Cook from Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church is officiating.

Jack was born on July 30, 1931, and he grew up in the Carolinas, until joining the Navy at the age of 17. He passed away on Jan. 26, 2025, in Tucson, Ariz.

Jolene was born on December 29, 1933, in Welty, Okla., to Marvin and Betty Morris. She passed away on Aug. 3, 2026, in Fresno, Calif. 

During high school, a friend of Jolene’s was dating a sailor stationed at Fort Ord and needed someone to ride the bus with her to the date. That sailor brought a buddy and that’s how Jolene met a young sailor named Jack O’Neal Walden. Jolene and Jack eloped to Reno, Nev., on July 4, 1950. 

The first years of marriage, while Jack was still in the Navy, produced three children, Janet Marie, Jack O’Neal Jr. and Jacqueline Kaye. In 1956, the family then moved to Sunnyvale, Calif., where their fourth child, Jill Annette, was added. In 1965 the family moved to Bakersfield, Calif. While living there, the three oldest children graduated from high school, Janet got married and had her first set of twin girls and Jack Jr. joined the Navy. 

Then in 1972 the remaining family moved back to Sunnyvale where the youngest child graduated from high school. Jolene was a stay-at-home mom while all the children were growing up. While the last child was finishing high school, Jolene got certified as a keypunch operator, did some retail sales jobs, then began working for Fairchild Semiconductor in Mt. View, Calif., as a wafer tester. 

After his stint in the Navy, he got a degree in electrical engineering and subsequently opened “Walden’s Refrigeration.” He later closed his business and began working for Lockheed. Jack was an inventor and registered many of his ideas for patents.

After working over 20 years in the Silicon Valley and watching their family grow, Jolene and Jack retired to Tucson, Ariz., in the late 1980s.

They are survived by four children, Janet Rice, Jack Walden Jr. (wife Maria), Jacqueline (Kaye) Walden, and Jill Stepke (husband Michael); 12 grandchildren, Deanna, Jennifer, Melissa, Elizabeth, Brian, Ashlie, Dustin, Matthew, Daniel, Sean, Megan, and Kourtney); 20 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren.

Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling the arrangements. Please visit their online memorial at lakeviewfuneral.com and sign their guest book.