Gwendolyn E. Walker

Gwendolyn “Gwen” Walker, long-time Whittier resident, passed away October 21 in her home surrounded by family. She was 106 years old.

Gwen was born in 1919 in St. Paul, MN to Herman A. and Lillian A. Bottin. Gwen and her family moved to California in 1930. During World War II, Gwen worked at Lockheed Corporation on B-17 Flying Fortresses, an American four-engine heavy bomber. After the War, she married Tom Walker and they eventually settled in Whittier where they raised their two children, Randall and Elizabeth.

Gwen was an active, life-long volunteer serving a number of local community organizations, including the Ocean View, East Whittier, and Cal Hi PTAs, the Spanish Trails Girl Scouts, the Whittier and La Habra Art Associations, the YMCA Travel Club, and the East Whittier Women’s Club. Gwen served for 22 years as the librarian-in-charge for the Ocean View Elementary School library, sponsored by the PTA. She was also employed at Ocean View as an aide for the reading specialist in the school’s media center. Upon retirement, her contributions were recognized with the dedication of the library in her honor. In 2009, Gwen was inducted into the East Whittier City School District Hall of Fame for 15 years of service as an Instructional Assistant.

Gwen was a committed volunteer with the Friends of Whittier Library where she logged thousands of hours of service. For 23 years, she sold children’s books at the main library every Thursday morning. She also worked on the monthly book auction for 18 years, cashiered at the Friends’ bookstore, and served on the Friends Board.

Since childhood, Gwen was an avid reader. Over the years, she maintained a list of the books she read. In 2025, she and her daughter wrote a book cataloging a sampling of the books she read over her lifetime.

Gwen was devoted to her family and is survived by her son, Randall Walker (Lolita), her daughter, Elizabeth Walker, and a niece, Donna Powell (Dave). Gwen was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years and her younger sister, Deloris (Reinke).

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Friends of Whittier Library. Checks made payable to Friends of Whittier Library should be mailed to: Whittier Public Library, 7344 Washington Ave., Whittier, CA 90602, ATTN: Library Administration. Donations may also be made online through Venmo Friends of Whittier Library.