Peggy Walter

Peggy Nimmo Walter was born on August 19, 1924 in Union County, Illinois, to Muriel and Ray Nimmo, and departed this life on Sunday, March 1, 2020 at her home. Her husband, Adolph W. Walter III, a sister, Betty Jo Wilkins, a brother, Howard Nimmo, and her parents, preceded her in death. She attended Sunday school at the Big Creek Baptist Church and attended elementary school at Friendship, a one room country school. She was graduated from Anna Jonesboro Community High School in 1941, and was employed that summer by the Anna State Bank. In the fall, she entered MacMurray College for women at Jacksonville, Illinois, which she attended for one year. In August 1942, she was admitted to the Kings County School of Nursing in Brooklyn, New York. During her affiliation at that institution, she served as a part-time cadet nurse recruiter, and spent six months at the Halloran General Army Hospital on Staten Island as a member of the Cadet Nurse Corps. Graduation from nursing school was in June of 1945, when she received an RN. Peggy was baptized in the chapel at Halloran General Hospital by an army chaplain in August 1945. In August 1945, she married Adolph W. Walter III at the Little Church Around the Corner (Church of the Transfiguration) in New York City. The atomic bomb ended the war, and after living a few months at Lompoc, California, life began in Anna, Illinois. She and her husband had three children, Barbara, Marsha, and Patrick. She served the community for ten years as Education Chairman for the American Cancer Society, earned the Red Cross nurses pin by teaching home nursing classes, did private duty nursing, served as President of the Davie School PTA, was an active member of the Band Parents Association, served as President of Delta Theta Tau sorority, was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, and after joining the Anna Methodist Church in 1946, taught a high school Sunday School class and assisted many years in Bible School. In 1965, she helped her husband establish the Carbondale KFC, which later became Walter’s Foods, Inc. She managed the store for eight years. During that period, she was named Business Person of the Year by the SIU Business Fraternity and was elected to the Board of Directors of the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce. She served as Secretary-Treasurer for the Corporation for the next twelve years and was also Secretary-Treasurer for Adwalt, Inc., a private holding company, for five years. Walter’s Foods Incorporated operated KFC franchises with retail stores in Anna, Carbondale, and Murphysboro, Illinois. She was a co-founder of the Tri State Advertising Co-op for Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri franchisees and held the office of Secretary-Treasurer of that group for 10 years. In 1975, Gov. Carroll of Kentucky named her a Kentucky Colonel, she was awarded a Life membership in the Kings County Hospital Alumni Society, and Missouri Military Academy named her to the President’s Society. After retiring in 1985, she served three years as financial secretary for the Anna United Methodist Church, was an active member of the Beta Alumni chapter of Delta Theta Tau, and the Thursday and Monday Social Clubs. She and Adolph traveled extensively, visiting all of the continents except Antarctica. The onset of multiple myeloma (cancer of the bone marrow) in 1993 caused a major change in lifestyle. In March 2012, she was recognized by the Union County Historical and Genealogical Society, along with two other honorees, as a Union County Woman of Achievement. In her time at home, she cooked, quilted, and kept a flower garden, did the family bookkeeping, managed investments, and played bridge with friends. She leaves three children, Barbara Jahn, of Medellin, of Columbia, SA, Marsha Walter, of Anna, and Patrick Walter and wife, Lisa of Lexington, Kentucky; three grandchildren, Jeremiah Jahn, Kaitlin Walter, and Andrew Walter; two great-grandchildren, Phoenix Evan and Magdalene Jahn, and two step grandchildren, Kathryn and Emily Schart. In accordance with the family's wishes, services for Peggy Walter have been postponed and will be announced at a later date. Memorials may be made to Anna United Methodist Church, or Hospice of Southern Illinois. Envelopes will be available at the Church, or at Crain Funeral Home.

Peggy Walter

August 19, 1924 - March 1, 2020