Wilbur Lincoln Walker Sr. passed on the 16th of March at his home in Goldston after a long period of declining health.

Known as both "W.L." and "Wilbur" by friends and family , he was born in Watha, North Carolina on September 29, 1926 to the late Livingston and Tessie Walker. He endured a difficult childhood under arduous conditions on the family farm during the Great Depression but learned early in life the value of hard work and dedication, virtues which he carried with him the rest of his life. Wilbur attended Pender County public schools before becoming the first member of his family to attend college when he entered State College in Raleigh. In 1950 he married his high school sweetheart, the former of Wilma Helen Powers of Maple Hill and the couple moved to Apex in 1954 when he finished college. There he began a career as a public school teacher which would span five decades. He taught vocational agriculture in Apex High School until 1958, when he moved to Chatham County to open the vocational agriculture program at the new Chatham Central High School in Bear Creek . He would go on to implement one of the first high school automotive mechanics departments in North Carolina in the 1960's, a program he would migrate to power mechanics in the 1970's. His contributions to Chatham Central High School were numerous and included the planting of the large hardwood trees in the early 1960's which still line the front of the campus today, and the building of the bleachers adjacent to the school's first football field. As a vocational agriculture teacher he was actively engaged in support of the farming activities of the community, often spending late hours helping farmers build gates for their pastures through application of his welding skills or assisting them in replacing the canvas components of their harvesting equipment using his heavy-duty Singer sewing machine. He was a gifted man capable of wiring a house, constructing fine wood furniture, rebuilding an engine, building a fiberglass-hulled boat, painting a car, laying bricks; this list could go on forever. His teaching career ended with his retirement in 1991 but throughout it and until his passing he was a loving father and good provider to a family which included his wife Wilma, a son Lin born in 1955, and a daughter Carol born in 1958.

Wilbur was preceded in death by his wife Wilma , and is survived by son Lin Walker and wife Margie of Cape Carteret; daughter Carol Foster and husband Alan of Fuquay-Varina; grandsons Michael and Kent of Raleigh; granddaughters Rachel and Lauren of Fuquay-Varina and brother in law Fennell M. Powers Jr. of Burgaw.

The family would like to express our gratitude for the care provided Wilbur in the home by Elizabeth Hartley and husband Jesus, Carmen P. Diver, Lynn Phillips, Peggy Beavers, Louise Gilchrist, and Ryan Gaines. Also, a special thank you is extended to Liberty Home Health and Hospice of Chatham County for the special care and support provided Wilbur over the final weeks of his life.

Arrangements are being handled by Harrell's Funeral Home of Burgaw and you are encouraged to view Wilbur's obituary at the Harrell's website (www.harrellsfh.com) and leave your comments, thoughts, and remembrances in the Guestbook there. He will be buried in the Powers' Cemetery in Maple Hill, with a graveside service to be conducted on Sunday, the 22nd of March at two pm. Should you wish to honor Wilbur's memory, please consider a contribution to Chatham Central High School, Liberty Hospice of Chatham County, or simply plan something that will grow and be beautiful for many years to come.
A service of Harrell's Funeral Home, Burgaw