Beverly Walker

Beverly (Hufnagel) Walker, 76, passed away at 2:50 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010, in Peoria. Beverly was born on June 13, 1934, at a farm on the Spoon River in Bradford to Frank B. and Freda A. (Stephens) Cass. She was married to William "Vance" Hufnagel from 1951 to 1967 and had four daughters. She married David V. "PeeWee" Walker in Bradford on Jan. 31, 1970, having a son. Surviving are her husband, David "PeeWee" of Bradford; four daughters, Danita Sendelbach of Henry, Lucinda (Bob) Thieben of Hopedale, Marsha (Steve) Perry of Wellston, Okla., and Vicky (Jim) Saline of Hopewell; one son, David "Tony" (Tanya) Walker of Bradford; 16 grandchildren, Jeanne (Gary) Lemkuhl of Arkansas, Erik (Tory) Greenwood, Joey (Beth) Greenwood, Nathan Gutschlag, Amanda Foster, Stephanie (Jim) Fritz, Constance Zavala and Alisa (Doug) Ebinger, all of Illinois, William Perry and Andrew Perry of Oklahoma, Angela (Ed) Panacci of Texas, Abby (Chris) Olson of Illinois, Ryan (Aimee) Strode of Iowa, Samantha Walker, David M. Walker and Christopher Walker, all of Illinois; two step-grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and seven stepgreat-grandchildren. She is also survived by two brothers, James (Margaret) Cass of Tiskilwa and Arthur "Skip" Cass of Dubuque, Iowa, and two sisters, Katherine "Katie" Garms of Kewanee and Margaret "Peg" (Mike) Talbot of Princeton, as well as one brother-in-law, Floyd (Marianne) Walker of Burleston, Texas, and one sister-in-law, Martha (Dave) Chamberlain of Bradford; four previous sisters-in-law, Pat Derrickson of Corvalis, Ore., Marie Bennison of Pana, Nancy Bland of Princeton, Janette Booker of Peru; and Steven Hufnagel of Princeton, Illinois. She was preceded in death by two brothers, John Cass and Donald Cass; one grandchild, Danielle Walker; and two great-grandchildren, Zachary and Noah Ebinger. Beverly had a passion and gift for cooking. She was the kitchen manager for many years at Whitey''s Place in Wyoming, Ill., then owned and operated the WaterTower Restaurant in Wyoming, Ill, for several years where family worked, laughed and celebrated life. Beverly decorated cakes in her home for years creating countless birthday, anniversary and wedding cakes. Her other passions were gardening and painting. Many of her paintings are cherished in the homes of her children and families. She loved family get-togethers, spending time with her children, grandchildren and their families as well as traveling from snowmobiling in Wisconsin, the sites of New Orleans and Vegas to the beaches of the east coast to Haiti and the Bahamas. She worked hard her whole life taking care of others from the banks of the Spoon River to caring for her first husband until is death, working on the farm by Broadmoor canning and gardening as well as working and preparing meals for countless people in her restaurant and volunteering on Thanksgiving Day at the Peoria South Side Mission. Beverly''s spirit for mission and thoughtfulness for others was shown as she volunteered her time and resources with the Friends of the Children of Haiti. She traveled there in 2002 and comforted babies, gave out supplies, made many friends and cooked meals under the resources of an underdeveloped country. She sponsored a Haitian child, Ermka, until she graduated from school. Rest well dear wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend. You''ve earned your rest. You will be greatly missed by all who love you. You were the glue that held this very large family together. We''ll miss your food, baking, stories, laughter, wisdom and caring. Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the Grant-Johnson Funeral home, Bradford. Cremation rites will be accorded and a private graveside service will be held. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorials may be directed to The Friends of the Children of Haiti, Bartonville, or the American Diabetes Association.