Bernice Walters

Bernice Walters passed away on January 18, 2012 at a local nursing facility with her family by her side. Memorial service will be Monday, January 23 at 2 pm at Grace Gardens Funeral Home with Rev. Greg Brumit officiating.

Bernice was born on May 23, 1932 in Monticello, Arkansas, the third of five sisters. Her mother worked hard to care for her girls and they were all very close. Bernice grew up quickly to be a beauty and as a teenager caught the eye of a home town boy named Ed Walters. He fell in love with her the second time he saw her. The feeling was mutual. They married and were blessed with two daughters, Teresa and Janis. Their marriage was one of mutual devotion, partnership, and sharing. She was a wonderful mother, with terrific instincts and more love than her daughters could ever absorb – so it overflowed to other children in her family and then all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren as they came along.

The family moved to Waco, Texas in 1950. Bernice delayed her formal education for marriage and family, but she never stopped learning on her own. Gifted with a brilliant and creative mind, a strong and independent spirit, and limitless energy, she never stopped finding ways to broaden her knowledge and express her opinions and talents – from political activism to the fine arts. She eventually earned a college degree from Baylor University (attending at the same time as her girls), and she became a teacher specializing in art and special education. Education was her career, and as with anything else she ever put her mind to, she did it very well – stamped with her own personal style. But her true passion was art – life drawing, photography, abstract painting, and sculpture. She was active in local art groups and her paintings and photography were included in numerous showings, publications, and local venues.

Her teaching career mostly was spent working with learning-disabled children, troubled girls, and finally teaching special education to women in Gatesville State Prison, helping them earn GED certificates to raise their self esteem and improve their ability to find work when released. After her retirement, she enjoyed spending time with Ed and doting on her great-grandchildren.

She is survived by her husband Edward; daughter Teresa Corley and her husband Clifford and daughter Janis Metoskie; grandson Charles Corley, his wife Robyn, and their son Florian; granddaughter Carrie Smith, her husband Jeff and their children Morgan, Peyton, Preston, and Tucker, and grandsons Eric and Alan Metoskie; sisters Vivian “Tootsie” Oden, Gladys Boone, Lucille Nealey, and Clarice Caldwell; and her sisters-in-law Jessie Chambers, Juanita “DeeDee” Huchinson, and Bobbie Whited.