Eliza Mae Walker-Edwards; Devoted to Church

Eliza Mae Walker-Edwards, a 33-year resident of Oxnard who was active in Trinity Baptist Church, died Friday. She was 77.

Walker-Edwards was born July 1, 1920, in Gibsland, La. The eldest of three children, she believed education was important, and graduated from Gibsland Colored High School.

In the early 1940s, Walker-Edwards moved with her parents to Oakland, where she met Earl Edwards. The couple married May 16, 1950.

“Eliza Mae was a wonderful person,” Earl Edwards said. “She was a real outdoorsy person--she liked to grow stuff, and always had a garden, with vegetables, string beans, tomatoes, flowers. She was always out in the yard.”

She also earned a reputation among family and friends for her skills in the kitchen.

“She was a good, good cook,” Edwards said. “She could cook anything--anything at all.”

She was also a religious woman, devoted to her church. She served on the Usher Board of Trinity Baptist Church and volunteered in many capacities.

In addition to her husband, Walker-Evans is survived by her stepdaughter, Earlene Edwards of Atlanta, Ga.

Services will be held today at 11 a.m. at Trinity Baptist Church in Oxnard. Burial will follow at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura.

Arrangements are under the care of Garcia Mortuary in Oxnard.