Beth

My beautiful, amazing, vibrant, compassionate friend died yesterday.  My mom took this picture of us together over twenty years ago and it has been in my various craft rooms for many years so I could see it almost every day.  And I will continue to miss her every day.

I want to write about the wonderful memories I have of her, but...I just can't.  Not yet.  My heart aches especially for her eleven-year-old son, who was just seven when she was diagnosed.  I hope that he has memories of her from before that time, before all the hospitals and treatments and everything.  Sometime soon I will sit down and write about some of my memories for him.

I am adding her obituary below now that it has been published.



Elizabeth Meredith Walker, mother to Elijah Escobar, wife to David Escobar, daughter of John and Lenore, sister to John and Sara, best friend of John-Paul Hayworth, and friend to all, has ended one journey and begun another. A born servant-leader, she came to the Rio Grande Valley twenty-two years ago for a short time and found her place among us. An award-winning public servant, including being certified internationally as a city manager and state-wide as city secretary, she spent her career giving her all to communities across the Valley including Weslaco, South Padre Island, and, until the day she died, Brownsville. Committed to the dignity of the profession and all those it served, she earned a Master's in Public Policy and Management from the University of London, conferred by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, completed the Harvard Leadership Development Program, and recently completed a term as regional President of the Texas City Managers Association. Her spirit and passion live on in the works she has done, including bringing internet access, championing the needs of Gulf War veterans, and leading community recovery from natural disasters, but more importantly in the hearts she touched. Elizabeth met strangers only once; ever after they were friends, loved, cherished, and celebrated for who they are. She deeply valued the spark in each individual and had the unique ability to not only see it but encourage it to grow and thrive. Elizabeth's most cherished spark is and will always be her son, Elijah. She gave her heart to so many she loved so easily, gave her body for four years to scientific advancement in cancer research, and her soul to the disciplined commitment to higher purpose. The family encourages everyone who knew her to hold those memories of her close during this time of transition and to make the lessons Elizabeth taught us a permanent part of our lives in remembrance of her light. “I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” ― Jack London A Celebration of Life will be held on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Historic Alonso Building on 510 E. St. Charles St., Brownsville, TX 78520. An additional Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, January 19, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Frontera Audubon Center, 1101 S. Texas Blvd., Weslaco, TX 78596. A family-only service will be held in Port Isabel and interment, open to all, will be at Port Isabel City Cemetery on Saturday, January 20, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, Elizabeth asks that any gifts in memoriam be sent to local causes and organizations that mean something deeply to the giver that provide support, assistance and care to those in need.