Carol Lorraine Walker

The date is September 3, 1934. It is harvest time in Breda, Iowa, and the summer has brought a severe drought with brutal heatwaves. America is in the throes of the Great Depression with Franklin D. Roosevelt as President. Helen Hundling goes into labor on Labor Day and delivers her first of seven children with her husband Carl Hundling. They name her Carol Lorraine Hundling.

Carol was raised on a German American family farm. For the first few years of her life, they had no running water and used an outhouse. Her dad farmed and raised Brown Swiss dairy cattle and her mom was a teacher and homemaker. Carol was the first grandchild on both sides; her grandparents each farmed a quarter of a mile away. Her siblings were her playmates, spanning 20 years from the first to the last.

Childhood experiences laid the foundation for Carol's strong work ethic. Communal activities included listening to FDR on their wooden radio while embroidering pillowcases and towels or singing with family while doing dishes. She participated in 4-H showing Brown Swiss cattle and sewing. Going to church was the big outing for the week. The school she attended for the first eight years was a one-room classroom with a coal-burning stove as the only heat source.

Carol excelled in school and graduated as Valedictorian of her high school class in 1952 in Wall Lake, Iowa. She set the pace for her siblings by insisting that she would go to college, starting at Iowa State Teachers College. At age 20, she earned a Professional Teaching Certificate and began teaching during the baby boomer teacher shortage. Eventually, in 1966, she received her B.A. in Education from the University of Oregon.

Wanderlust best describes Carol’s innate desire to travel, and summers off as a teacher allowed for it. She mapped out trips to Colorado and Massachusetts while working as a waitress, gift shop clerk, or motel housekeeper. She then decided it was “Oregon or Bust.” She marveled at the beauty of the forested trees and the ocean, having never seen anything like it when she landed in Seaside, Oregon. Here, while in Seaside, she met the myth, the legend, and her future husband, Gary Walker. They married in 1959 in Gary’s hometown of Warrenton.

The couple lived in Arizona and California while Gary worked as a civilian on Air Force Bases. Along the way, Carol taught elementary school. They finally set roots in the Eugene/Springfield area where they lived for the next 57 years. There, they welcomed Heidi and Derek.

As a devoted at home mom for 18 years, Carol instilled in her children life lessons in compassion, work ethic, and resourcefulness while always being extremely supportive. She encouraged her kids to explore the world while taking them on unique road trips like to ghost towns in Nevada.

Later, Carol managed and worked at a Baskin Robbins Ice Cream store that she and Gary owned on the University of Oregon campus. She also worked as a sales representative for American Greetings, and as an organizer for local conferences and occasionally returned to substitute teaching.

At a young age, Carol learned to cook and would make fruit cakes as gifts. She was known for her 1971 Lane County Fair blue ribbon apple pie, and her picture-perfect spread of Christmas cookies. Friends and family were always welcomed by her delicious homemade meals.

Growing up on a farm gave Carol a strong sense of growing plants. She had a green thumb, and each spring, she relished creating magnificent colorful pots for her patio. She was even featured in Sunset Magazine, surrounded by her flowers.

Perhaps no passion defined Carol more than travel. She meticulously planned trips for her and Gary to travel across the United States, Mexico, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. She was known as the family travel planner, organizing reunions and adventures for her siblings and their spouses.

Carol loved greeting cards and sending them with a kind note for many occasions. People will miss her much-anticipated unique holiday letters, which often included political zingers and witty humor.

Carol approached many health battles with grace, courage, and strength over the past sixteen years. She never complained and met each obstacle with resilience until June 20, 2026, when she passed.

Gary preceded Carol in death on November 21, 2022, as well as her parents and several brother and sister in laws. She is lovingly remembered by her children Heidi (Normand) Guité and Derek (Kristin) Walker, and four grandchildren: Simone and Luca Guité and Maxwell and Vivian Walker along with her siblings Joyce, Charles (Marilyn), Marjorie, Jeanie, David, and Phyllis (Paul), and numerous nieces and nephews.

A heartfelt thanks to Andrea who started as a caregiver but soon became a good friend and part of our family. She brought compassionate care, humor and love.

A public memorial service will be held August 22, 2026, at the Adult Activity Center in Springfield, OR at 2:00PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Oregon Public Broadcasting or the Gary Walker Trail System at: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=7GSPZ6YE3LC6C