Coleen M. Walker

Coleen Marguerite Walker, 96, of Aberdeen, South Dakota, passed away Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at Mother Joseph Manor in Aberdeen.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, February 9, 2026, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

Luncheon and fellowship will follow the service at the church hall.

Interment will take place at Riverside Memorial Park at a later date.

A visitation will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 8, 2026, at Schriver's Memorial Chapel, with a wake service and rosary at 5:00 p.m.

Schriver’s Memorial Mortuary and Crematory, 414 5th Avenue NW, Aberdeen, is honored to serve the Walker family. Family and friends may sign the online guestbook at www.schriversmemorial.com. Services will be recorded and posted on our Facebook page following the service.

Coleen Marguerite Kirkendall Johnston was born June 6, 1929, in Bird Island, Minnesota, to John “Jack” and Margaret (Bauman) Kirkendall. Sadly, Jack died when Coleen was an infant. Margaret moved Coleen and her sisters, Jeanne (Maas) and Donna (Davies), to Aberdeen to join Coleen’s grandmother and her relatives. Margaret met Bruce Johnston three years later, and he became a loving father to Coleen and her sisters.

After starting school in Aberdeen, the family moved to Bismarck, North Dakota, where they lived for four years. They returned to Aberdeen when Coleen was a sophomore to finish high school. Coleen put her all into the academics and social aspects of school. She loved being a cheerleader and working on the school newspaper. She developed close friendships with many classmates, which continued with ongoing handwritten “round-robin” letters for the rest of her life.

Graduating from Central High School in 1947, she attended one year at Northern State College in Aberdeen before she decided to get her first job at Aberdeen National Bank. During that time, she was a participant in the Miss Aberdeen pageant.

She met Brice Walker at Daniels Drug Store soda fountain, drinking a cherry coke, in the spring of 1949. At that time Brice planned a road trip to California with his friends. Upon learning of the trip, Coleen told him of her interest in visiting Donna in Deadwood, SD., and he offered her a ride. Surprisingly, she accepted. The romance had begun!

Brice and Coleen were married on February 20, 1950. Blessed with four children, John, Jeff, Jan, and Julie, their greatest joy and biggest priority was raising their kids and supporting their academics and wide-ranging activities.

Coleen enjoyed so many activities over her long life. She always said “she was the only boy in the family” as she enjoyed learning from Bruce how to fish, hunt, and golf, which she enjoyed throughout adulthood. She and Brice enjoyed many wonderful years of golfing. In the early years, they golfed at Lee Park in Aberdeen with family and friends. Upon switching to Moccasin Creek, they continued playing with those friends and made many new friends. These friendships led to many more years of golfing, traveling, and socializing. That golf legacy has been passed down and enjoyed by generations of the family. Coleen was a competitive bridge player who enjoyed the game her whole life until her eyesight limited her play. Coleen was often the coordinator of her women’s bridge groups and did the same for her golf groups. Card and board games were a significant part of family gatherings and reunions. The games “hide the thimble” and “button-button” have become family legacies, even in this day of electronics. Coleen was always at the center of such special times. She still enjoyed playing cards in the weeks preceding her death. Coleen and Brice loved to travel, having visited all 48 continental states. In earlier years, they had precious time traveling with Brice’s mother and dad, Clayton and Ruth Walker. In later travels, they especially enjoyed their trip to Ireland and a cruise with Brice’s brother Dick and his wife Judy. Coleen loved warm weather and shared 17 great years of fun with Brice, wintering in Arizona.

She was actively involved in her church, PEO, and bible study.

Coleen embraced life, was hardworking, and was a fiercely independent woman. She tackled and finished any project she started. She was always striving to learn throughout her adult life, including the technical challenges of computers and cell phones. And she always kept up reading the news and followed world events.

Coleen was a loving wife to Brice for 61 years. That love extended to 4 children, 10 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, 2 great-great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. She always reminded people that she was proud to have lived 96 ½ years!

Surviving Coleen are her children: John (Kitty) Walker of Rapid City, Jeff (Kathy) Walker of Eagan, Minnesota, Jan (Tim) Nelson of Willmar, Minnesota, and Julie (Dan) Nikolas of Aberdeen; brother-in-law Richard (Judy) Walker of The Villages, Florida; grandchildren: Mathew (Erica) Walker, Heather (Jeremy) Buthuis, Paul (Danae) Lapka, Jason (Jamie) Walker, Tom (Mary Sue) Walker, Scott Walker, Melody Walker, Erin (Jase) Kumpf, Christopher (Shantel) Nikolas, and Brian (Whitney) Nelson.

Coleen was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, Brice’s parents, her sisters, a niece, and two nephews.