Mrs. Ethel Dawson Walker

Ethel Dawson Walker was born to the union of James Henry and Elnora Kinchen Dawson on December 22, 1924 in Plaquemine, Louisiana. She was baptized at the age of 12 at the Pilgrim Temple Baptist Church. She received her grade and high school education in Plaquemine, Louisiana. She graduated from Iberville High School. She attended Leland College and Columbia University. She received her B. S. and Master degrees from Teachers College Columbia University majoring in Curriculum and Teaching. After graduating, she went back to her hometown of Plaquemine, LA, to teach. She taught there for several years before getting married to George E. Walker, whom she met at Columbia University. The two were married for fifty years until God saw fit to take George to his heavenly home. George and Ethel had one daughter, Terry Alice. After marrying, George and Ethel moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she sought to continue her role in teaching in the year 1954 as a qualified secondary education teacher. At that time Milwaukee was not readily hiring black teachers on the secondary level. After many attempts to apply for a position and being denied, she turned her attention to the parochial school system. She was offered a job at St. Benedict The Moor High School, where she taught for 5 years. In the meantime, she continued to apply at Milwaukee Public School System for a position. When she was told by an MPS personnel interviewer that if she would go back to school and qualify for elementary education, they'd hire her the next day. With that bit of information, she went back to school to qualify for elementary education. After receiving elementary education qualification, she was hired to teach at Lloyd Street School, where she taught for a number of years. By this time MPS had grown more liberal in their hiring practices. She applied for and received an appointment to Robert Fulton Jr. High School. While at Robert Fulton, she enrolled at UWM to receive certification for high school counseling. She completed the course of study and was hired as a secondary counselor. After 31 years in the Milwaukee Public School System, she retired as a counselor from Juneau High School in 1990. Ethel Walker was a Christian woman, who loved people and her church. She joined Calvary Baptist Church in 1955 and was a dedicated member and continued her membership until her death. She worked in the service of the Lord. She held after school tutoring classes at Calvary for a number of years, served on Board of Christian Education, served as church clerk for 20 years, chaired leadership training session, chaired Women's Day Committee, member of Church Bylaws Committee, member of Calvary's Core Team, and a member of Calvary's Administrative Team Website Committee. Not only was she active in church, she was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Epsilon Kappa Omega Chapter for more than 50 years. As a chapter member, she served as secretary, financial secretary, vice president, and president. She also chaired the Cotillion Committee and many other major committees. Ethel was a member of The Links, Inc. Milwaukee Chapter. The Links, Inc. is a community service organization. As a member of this organization, she served as vice president and president. In this organization she spent many hours working to uplift the downtrodden in our community. She served as a member of the women's auxiliary to the Milwaukee Urban League, served on the board of African World Festival for many years, was a member of Milwaukee County Citizen Review Board, and a member of the NAACP. She was preceded in death by her dear husband, George E. Walker; parents; James Henry Dawson and Elnora Kinchon Dawson; four brothers, Reverend Fred D. Dawson, Andy Dawson, Ralph Dawson, and Reverend James H. Dawson, Jr., and a sister, Inez Dawson Mellion. She leaves to mourn her departure a loving daughter, Terry Alice; a darling son-in-law, Kenneth Schoppmann; brother, Dr. Peter E. Dawson; and a host of nieces, nephews, great- nieces, great-nephews, great-great nieces and nephews, as well as many cousins.

Mrs. Ethel Dawson Walker

December 22, 1924 - May 27, 2019