Marina Giardetti Walker

Marina Giardetti Walker, age 56, passed away on November 18, 2023, in Dallas, Texas. A devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend to all, Marina will be remembered for her indomitable spirit, radiant joy, and unwavering faith. She served the Lord with her whole heart, and as a dynamic, capable, and effective leader, she was an inspiration to all who were privileged to know her.

Marina, the oldest of seven children, was born on October 10, 1967, in Fort William, Ontario, Canada to Erin and Roland Giardetti. She graduated from Port Arthur Collegiate Institute in 1985. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theater from the University of New Mexico in 1990 and later earned a Master of Business Administration from Regent University. After college, she followed her passion into missions and ministry where she worked for 15 years. Countless lives throughout the world were impacted by her selfless servant leadership and her great love for people of every walk of life.

In 2003, Marina married Jeff Walker, her best friend and the love of her life. She and Jeff were blessed with three children: Annabel, Jake, and Jillian. Marina enjoyed purposefully introducing her children to missions, serving others, and travel. Her adventuresome nature and her efficient planning led to memorable family trips to Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, and Zambia. Recently, she was on the boards of For the Nations Refugee Outreach and the Dallas Chapter of the National Charity League. Marina was an enthusiastic volunteer and passionate advocate for The Covenant School in Dallas. The Walkers joined Park Cities Presbyterian Church in 2014 and were members of the Shalom Class.

Marina is survived by her husband, Jeff, and their three children, Annabel, Jake, and Jillian, all of Dallas; parents, Erin and Roland Giardetti, of Cape Coral, Florida; siblings, Melora (Marcel) Vandersluis, Orlando, Florida; Monica (Shawn) Whatley, Mount Albert, Ontario; Michelle (Ralph) Montemurro, Etobicoke, Ontario; Mark (Mary) Giardetti, Cape Coral, Florida; Marla (Brent) Klinck, Burlington, Ontario; and Micah (Lydia) Giardetti, Denver, Colorado, aunts, uncles, cousins, and many nephews and nieces.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 7, 2023, from 6-8 p.m., Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 W. Northwest Highway, Dallas, Texas 75225. Marina’s celebration of life service will be held on Friday, December 8, 2023, at 11 a.m., Park Cities Presbyterian Church, 4124 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas, Texas 75219. A livestream of the memorial service will be available at https://pcpc.org/live/memorial-services/

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to For the Nations Refugee Outreach, 414 S. Purdue Dr., Garland, Texas 75042. https://ftnro.org/donate.