Mary "Celeste" Walker, known as Celeste to family and friends alike, passed peacefully from this life with family at her side on March 17, 2024 at the Hospice Alliance in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A long-time resident of Racine, Wisconsin, Celeste was born on July 2, 1952 in Detroit, Michigan, the 2 ^nd of 4 children born to James G. Walker Sr. and Jean Elizabeth (Hughes) Walker.

Along with her siblings, Celeste attended Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School, and graduated from Central Michigan University in 1974 with dual majors in French and Mathematics. She taught school in Battle Creek, Michigan and Kenosha, Wisconsin before ultimately finding her true calling of caring for foster children with the Kenosha Human Development Services Agency. In this and in every aspect of her life, Celeste lived a life of sacrifice and service to others the likes of which is so rarely seen in this world we live in. She truly loved those children as if they were her own, and maintained relationships with many of them into their adulthood.

Celeste was a founding member of the Bradford Community Unitarian Universalist Church in Kenosha, and was deeply committed to its principles of compassion, justice, peace and the intrinsic worth of all persons. She also proudly represented the City of Racine for many years as a poll worker and supervisor, having even received a commendation from the City for her long years of tireless service to the democratic process that she so strongly believed in.

In her spare time, Celeste loved reading, kayaking on the Root River, and was an avid ecologist – even to the point of collecting rainwater with which to fill her washing machine. Everyone who knew her was aware of how precise she was in her speech and diction, always carefully choosing the right words in any situation – this is something she inherited from her mother, who herself was a dual-major college graduate and similarly precise in her mannerisms.

Celeste was preceded in death by her parents James and Jean, and her older sister Susan. She is survived by her younger brothers James G. (Jr.) and Robert H. Walker, many cousins on both sides of her family as well as nieces and nephews – who all loved her and will miss her matter-of-fact mannerisms and her wry sense of humor.

She touched so many lives – please join us in remembering Celeste at her memorial service to be held at the Bradford Community Church (5810 8th Avenue   Kenosha, WI   53140)  on April 6, 2004 at 11:00 AM.

Service Details

She touched so many lives – please join us in remembering Celeste at her memorial service to be held at the Bradford Community Church (5810 8th Avenue   Kenosha, WI   53140)  on April 6 ^th , 2024 at 11:00 AM.