Patricia A. (Terry) Walker

Patricia (Pat) Annette Walker, 85, former Mayor of Scottdale, passed away on May 11th 2019 at Excela Frick Hospital, Mt. Pleasant.  She was born on September 7, 1933 in New York City to Ashby B. Terry and John A Terry Sr. and was the youngest of four children.  Pat was practically a lifelong resident of Scottdale with strong roots in the community.   Her maternal grandparents Ruben and Mattie Evans settled in Scottdale in 1910.  She grew up at 30 Third Ave, graduating from Scottdale High School with the Class of 1951 having played clarinet in the marching band.  Pat was kind of a pioneer.  Soon after graduation, she enlisted in the newly formed U.S. Air Force and traveled to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas for Basic Training.  Few women, as a percentage of the population, enlisted in the military at that time.  After basic training, she was a member of the Women Air Corps (WAC), stationed at Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, California and served from 1951 to 1954.  With the exception of seven years following her graduation, she lived in Scottdale, primarily in her home on  for her entire life.

Pat’s life was filled with raising her children, Lynn, Ashby, and Selina; working at Bell Telephone (later Verizon) in Greensburg for over 25 years; serving as a faithful member of Morning Star Baptist Church and Beulah Baptist Church; and serving the Scottdale community.  She was honored to serve as Scottdale’s first woman and first African-America Mayor from 2004 to 2009 and considered it the pinnacle of her community service that started in the early 1960’s as member of Scottdale’s Civil Defense organization and continued until this past December.  Her contributions to the community included:  Head Start volunteer, Secretary of the Association of Churches, Sunday school teacher and pianist; serving as one of the first women directors of the Scottdale YMCA, Business and Professional Women (BPW) past-President and (until her passing) Secretary; Salvation Army volunteer, Steering Committee Vice Chair for the Jacob’s Creek Open Your Heart to A Senior United Way program, and Scottdale Chamber of Commerce volunteer.  Her elected service to Scottdale began in 1988 when she became the 1st Ward borough council member and was elected as a county Democratic Committee Woman.  She represented the 1st Ward on the Borough Council until she became Mayor.  In 2009, in recognition of her cumulative service, she received Scottdale’s “Citizen of the Year” award at a Picnic in the Park ceremony.

Pat’s passions were the Steelers, shoes, Danielle Steele romance novels, poetry, and sending birthday and holiday cards (often with Jefferson $2.00 bills).  She seemed to make a friend of everyone she met and lived by being positive and seeking to love and help others.

Pat was preceded in death by her daughter Selina Walker, her husband Nathaniel Walker, Brothers John A. Terry and Chris M.G. Terry, and Sister Gloria Allen.  She is survived by her loving family:  children - Dr. Lynn M. Scott (and wife Cynthia) of Silver Spring, Maryland and Ashby J. Scott of North Royalton, Ohio; grandchildren – Jessica Redmond (and husband Jon) of Minnetonka Beach, Minnesota and Raina Richardson (and husband Christopher) of Greensburg; and great-grandchildren – Eva Redmond, James Redmond, Kayla Johnson, Mya Johnson, Tia Patricia Johnson, and Derek Ingram; nieces - Merrill Jean Bailey (and husband Joe) of Atco, New Jersey, Elizabeth Terry (and partner Rev Cheryl Walker) of Wilmington, North Carolina; and nephew Richard Terry of Baltimore, Maryland; cousins including – Karen Tracy (and husband Daniel) of Mt. Pleasant and Carolyn Price, Lisa Price Bundridge (and husband Rev Kevin Bundridge) Anita  Vivio (and Husband Darrell), all of Scottdale, and their siblings.

Family and Friends are cordially invited to the Frank Kapr Funeral Home Inc., 417 Pittsburgh St. Scottdale, Friday, May 17, 2019, from 2 – 4 & 6 – 8 PM and Saturday from 9:30 to 11 AM, the hour of her Funeral Service, with the Rev. Carl Jackson, Pastor of Beulah Baptist Church, Smithfield, officiating.

Committal Service and Interment will follow in the Scottdale Cemetery with full Military Honors accorded at the gravesite by the Southmoreland Veterans Honor Guard.

Those who wish to remember Pat in a special way are encouraged to make Memorial gifts to the Scottdale Library, Jacob Creek Heart To a Senior Program or the Scottdale B.P.W. Scholarship Fund.

Funeral Home doors will locked between hours.

To visit on line obituary, send condolences, flowers or obtain directions, please visit www.kapr.com

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