Colleen (Cowdrey) Walker

Colleen Walker, age 88 of Newport, New Hampshire passed away on Friday, June 9th, 2023. Colleen was born September 18, 1934 to Fay and Rose Cowdrey in Randolph, Vermont. After graduating from Randolph High school, she went on to study Nursing at Worcester College, Worcester, Massachusetts. After earning her nursing degree, she left Randolph, Vermont and started working for Tucson General Hospital in Tucson, Arizona, where she met her husband Rodney and married September 13, 1956. Colleen and Rodney went on to have three children, Julie, Mark, and Keith. Colleen moved to Newport, New Hampshire in 1970 with her family, and began working as a Home Health Nurse. She was committed to her job, and loved helping others, but her real joy came from volunteering in community activities in the “Sunshine Town” and helping wherever she was needed. She was an active member of the Croydon Christian Church and played the piano for the choir. Colleen loved playing the piano and shared her musical talents as the pianist of the Croydon Singers. The Croydon Singers visited assisted living facilities and nursing homes to provide entertainment and joy to the residents.

Colleen’s bubbly personality was contagious, and she never met a stranger that did not become a friend. She was kind to everyone, and if they needed help, she would work with others to find a way to meet those needs. Colleen loved volunteering and shopping at the Thrift Store. She enjoyed building out her fashionable wardrobe and buying clothes for others in need. Everyone commented how wonderful she looked in the clothes she wore, and she would always tell them – “this came from the Thrift Store.” Colleen’s hobbies were reading, playing the piano, taking photos, exercising, and going to the beach. Colleen was a loving, caring and giving individual who will be missed by many.

Colleen was preceded in death by her husband, Rodney and son, Keith. She is survived by her daughter, Julie James and her husband, Mark, son, Mark Walker, and his wife Cindy, nine grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren, her brother, Jack Cowdrey, and sisters, Ranee Strong and Phyllis Carrow. A date for Colleen’s Celebration of Life will be announced later this summer. The family would like to express our thanks for the wonderful help and care given by the Jack Byrne Palliative Care Center in Hanover, New Hampshire. If desired, friends may make memorial contributions to the Newport Richards Library, 58 North Main Street, Newport, New Hampshire 03773, and Turning Points, 5 School Street, Claremont, New Hampshire 03743.

Funeral services will be held at 10 AM on August 19, 2023 at South Congregational Church, 20 Church St, Newport, NH.

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