Obituary of Patricia A. Walker

Patricia Walker, long time denizen of Eaton’s Neck, died January 5 after fighting lung cancer and other diseases.  She was 80. 

Pat was among that first wave of working mothers in the 1960s – women who had no desire to be counter-culture but, simply by deciding to choose their own paths, revolutionized both family structures and workplaces.  She attended Hofstra in the 1950s.  She majored in Mathematics and landed a position at Grumman Aerospace.  Subsequently, Pat earned her master’s degree in education and became a teacher of the developmentally disabled at Commack High School South – a vocation that brought her many rewards.  Her impact on the lives of her students was clear --several of them kept in touch through decades calling or sending cards at birthdays and Christmas time.

Born Patricia Ann Fegan, the oldest child of Myles and Mildred Fegan, Pat spent her childhood in Brooklyn where the families of both parents had settled after immigrating from County Tyrone, Ireland.  The Fegan family moved to Merrick, on Long Island, in the mid-1950s where Pat finished High School and then attended college.  Pat was very active in college life, including her sorority, where she served a term as president.  She developed strong relationships during those years, especially with several of her sorority sisters, and those relationships lasted a lifetime.

In 1960 she married Robert (“Chic”) Walker and subsequently became the mother of two children Kerry and Corey.  She is survived by her daughters, their husbands Dave and Jake, respectively, as well as Corey and Jake’s three children Reece, Morgan and Evan.

Visitation will take place at Nolan & Taylor-Howe Funeral Home, 5 Laurel Avenue Northport, on Friday, January 12, from 2-5 & 7-9 pm. A funeral service will be held on Saturday at 11:15 am at the funeral home followed by a burial at St. Philip Neri Cemetery.