Carlita Kemnitz Walters

Carlita Walters, much loved and admired daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, business person, and role model, passed away on February 26, 2021, age 91. She was born on December 17, 1929, at home, in Perry, Oklahoma, to Carl and Laura (Berry) Kemnitz. She was the youngest of three children. She moved to Edmond in 1934. She attended Edmond public schools for 12 years and was the valedictorian of the Edmond High School class of 1947 with a perfect 4.0 average. Carlita was a joiner and a leader. Among her many high school activities, she was the football and basketball queen and a cheerleader. The summer after her graduation, she enrolled at what was then known as Central State College (now the University of Central Oklahoma). She was on the President’s honor roll, was the freshman queen and was a member and officer of many student organizations. She was on track to graduate in three years, but that plan was interrupted in August 1949, when she married John Paul Walters, a World War II veteran who was in his last year of law school at OU. They met at the iconic Royce Café at 4th and Broadway in Edmond—although Paul always insisted he had first seen her years before and said, “That’s the girl I’m going to marry.” Paul and Carlita were one of the first couples married in the new sanctuary of the First Christian Church of Edmond.

Carlita quit school and went to work while Paul finished his degree. In November 1950, their first son, John Paul Walters Jr., was born. The three moved to Chickasha in 1953 for ten years. While in Chickasha, Carlita tenaciously finished her degree, graduating in 1958 from what was then the Oklahoma College for Women (now the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma), with a double major in business and elementary education and a 3.75 GPA.

In 1962, the Walters family returned to Edmond, and Carlita began a master’s program in counseling at what had become Central State University. In 1963, Paul and Carlita’s second son, Mark, was born. Both sons were born in the old Edmond Hospital at Broadway and 2nd street above the old Broncho movie theater.

After completing her master’s degree cum laude, Carlita was a counselor at Edmond High School (then the only high school in Edmond) for seven years. Recognizing the opportunities presented in a growing Edmond real estate market, Carlita began a 25-year career in real estate. For eight of those years, she had her own agency, Walters Real Estate. She had originally intended it to be a one-woman office, but a number of agents asked if they could work with her, and Walters Real Estate quickly became a thriving office that was later purchased by Keller Williams. She was Realtor Associate of the year for Edmond in 1981, Most Cooperative Realtor in 1987, and Realtor of the Year in 1988. She was a past president of the Edmond Board of Realtors (and also served in numerous other roles) and served two years on the Oklahoma Board of Realtors. She was also a member of the first Leadership Edmond class.

Among many other things, Carlita served on the Edmond School board from 1985-1993 and was president from 1992-1993. She was also a long-time member, and past president, of both PEO and the Edmond Cambridge Club. She was an original Pink Lady at the Edmond Hospital, the first president of the Will Rogers Elementary PTA and a Cub Scout den mother for eight years.

Carlita was also a faithful and active member of the First Christian Church of Edmond. She was baptized in the church building at Broadway and Campbell before it moved to its present location. She taught Sunday School, was a long-time member and past president of the Christian Women’s Fellowship, served on the church board, and was part of the committee that wrote a history of the church to commemorate its 100th anniversary.

Carlita loved bridge, mahjongg, OU football, and movies. She also loved to travel. She took her first trip to Europe in 1972 (with her mother) and took one or two trips every year thereafter. She visited all the countries in Western Europe, as well as Russia, Turkey, Egypt, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Hawai’i, Alaska, most of the states in the Continental U.S., Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, and several countries in Central and South America. In September 2020, notwithstanding Covid 19, she was able to attend the wedding of her granddaughter Katherine in College Station, Texas, which she enjoyed very much. Shortly thereafter she took a train trip from Denver to California with her son Paul and daughter in law Alexis. At the time of her death, she was about to leave on another trip to Arizona with Paul and Lex.

Carlita’s efforts were unceasing for her family, her friends, and her community. She was always there to help and to listen, she always had a positive attitude, and her glass was always at least half full. She was a loving, happy, cheerful outgoing person. She was also patient, persistent, determined, and hard working. She was a role model for many young women making their way in business and in life.

Carlita is survived by her two sons: John Paul Jr., and his wife, Alexis Downs, of Edmond and Mark Lewis, and his wife Laura, of Washington DC; four grandchildren: Page Walters, of Edmond; Katherine Madden, and her husband Phillip, of Houston, Texas; John Paul Walters III, of Denton, Texas; and Jane Walters, of Austin, Texas; and two nephews: Garry Kemnitz, and his family, and Scott Kemnitz. She was preceded in death by her husband John Paul; her parents; her brother Verrol Kemnitz, his wife Joan, and their son Randall; and her sister Arlene Flynn, and her husband Frank.

Carlita had hundreds of friends and many more acquaintances. To allow all to mourn together, a virtual memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 22, 2021, at the First Christian Church of Edmond. A link for the service will be posted on the church’s website, https://www.fccedmond.org/memorial, and can also be obtained by sending an email to [email protected]. The service will also be archived and available through the church’s website. A private inurnment will be held at the Mausoleum at Memorial Park Cemetery. The family hopes to hold an in-person celebration of life for all who knew her at a later date.

The loss to Carlita’s family and friends is incalculable. She will always be remembered and will never be replaced. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Carlita’s name can be made to the First Christian Church of Edmond, Fisher House Foundation, Paralyzed Veterans of America, or another charity of your choice.