Elizabeth "Betty" Boykin Walker

(February 1, 1924 to September 4, 2022)

Betty passed peacefully in the night over the Labor Day weekend after a long and adventure-filled life. Betty grew up in Mobile with her siblings, Matt A. Boykin, Jr. and Anne B. Howard. In 1933, Betty was the Juvenile Queen of Mardi Gras and remained active in many mystic organizations throughout her life, most notably being a founding member of the Maids of Mirth. She attended Trinity College in Washington, D.C. until the Second World War broke out, when she returned to Mobile and worked at Brookley Air Force Base making maps in support of the war effort. Betty had a profound interest in politics as her father was a Probate Judge and her uncle, Frank W. Boykin, was one of the longest serving Congressman in Alabama. On December 8, 1941 Betty was present with Congressman Boykin in Washington D.C. when President Roosevelt declared war on Japan. Betty also attended two dinners at the White House hosted by the Kennedys in honor of the navy men who served with President Kennedy on the PT boats during World War II.

In 1947, she married the love of her life, Ephriam Brevard Walker, Jr. ("Brevard"), with whom she had three children, Ephriam Brevard Walker III, Matthew Boykin Walker, and Frances Walker Robichaux, all of whom survive her. During the 50's, she helped Brevard open the first hotel in Mobile that catered to Black patrons, then penned a society column for the Mobile Press Register being known as “Betty Bienville.” After Brevard's passing, she took over his two lumber companies – E.B. Walker Gulf Export Company and American Pitch Pine Company. Once she retired from the lumber business, she became a travel agent and saw the world. However, her first love was art. Betty began painting watercolors as a teenager while stuck at home with an extended illness, uncovered an innate talent, and parlayed a hobby started out of boredom into a life-long passion. She became a prolific artist and eventually became a partner at Cathedral Square Gallery, where she enjoyed mingling with "new talent."

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Catherine VanAntwerp and the Honorable Matthew A. Boykin, and her beloved husband. In addition to her children, she is survived by 13 grandchildren, namely Laura Walker Plunkett, Melissa Parrish Walker, Melinda Erin Walker, Ephriam Brevard Walker IV, Ann Banks Walker, Katherine Walker White, Elizabeth "Buff" Teague, Matthew Boykin Walker, Jr., Avril Walker Drummond, Martin Brevard Walker, William Forrest Walker, and LeAnn Elizabeth Cedotal, and numerous great-grandchildren.

The family will have a private service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Visitation Monastery.