Barbara Elizabeth Atkinson Walker

Funeral services for Barbara Atkinson Walker will be held at Robert Barham Family Funeral Home on Wednesday, July 5, 2023 at 11:30 AM with Rev. Kenneth Owen officiating. Visitation will be held at the funeral home from 10:30-11 :30 AM prior to the service. Interment will follow at Magnolia Cemetery. Robert Barham Family Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with the arrangements.

Barbara Atkinson Walker, 94, passed away peacefully at Aldersgate Retirement Community in Meridian, MS on July 2, 2023.

Born in Louisville, MS, Barbara moved to Philadelphia, MS at a young age and was a graduate of Philadelphia High School. She attended Mississippi State College for Women (now MUW) for two years, then graduated from Millsaps College with a bachelor's degree in education. Barbara was a favorite and beloved teacher of many, first at Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama, then with Meridian Public Schools. Barbara was a longtime member of Poplar Springs Drive United Methodist Church where she and her husband Bob were very active. In their retirement, they served others through Meals on Wheels and provided devotionals at King's Daughters and Sons Nursing Home where Barbara would read and Bob would sing. She loved traveling and spending time with friends and family, especially her grandchildren. Barbara was a talented seamstress, wonderful cook, and an avid Mississippi State Bulldogs fan. Barbara will be remembered for her friendly personality and her warm greetings for everyone she encountered.

Survivors include daughter, Ginny Walker Shurlds (Henry); grandchildren, Robert Walker Shurlds and Abbey Faust (Mikey); and great-grandchild Michael Joseph Faust III on the way; sister Emma Atkinson; and several cousins, nieces and nephews.

Barbara was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Robert W. "Bob" Walker; parents, Leonard and Clara Davis Atkinson; and sister, Clara Lynn Morgan.

Pallbearers are David Gilmore, Winky Glover, Bubba Hannah, Jim Lauderdale, Harry Mayer, and Coleman Warner.

Honorary pallbearers are Mrs. Walker's sitters and the staff of Aldersgate Retirement Community. Appreciation is also extended to the Gentiva Hospice staff.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Bob and Barbara Walker Endowed Scholarship at Meridian Community College, https://meridiancc.edu/about_mcc/foundation/give/giving.html -specify "Bob and Barbara Walker Endowed Scholarship", or to the Aldersgate Sunday Fund https://www.mss.org/donate -designate "Aldersgate Personal Care-Meridian".

Family and friends may sign the online guestbook at robertbarhamffh.com.