Nancy Archer Walk – Elizabeth Township
Nancy Archer Walk, age 92, of Elizabeth Township, died on Monday, April 15, 2024. She was born in South Bend, Ind., on May 12, 1931, and was the daughter of the late Harry Langston Archer and Margaret Hire Archer. The family moved to Pleasant Hills in 1945. Nancy was a 1949 graduate of Baldwin High School, where she met her future husband, Dr. George Thomas Walk, who preceded her in death. A 1953 graduate of Allegheny College, in Meadville, Pa., she was a member of the national sorority Kappa Alpha Theta and was elected to Kappa Delta Epsilon, a national honors society in the field of education. Nancy lived a joyful life of service to family and community in the Elizabeth Township/McKeesport area. She was a six-time elder and longtime Communicants Class and Sunday school teacher at Mount Vernon Community Presbyterian Church, sitting on the Stewardship Committee and the Faith and Life Committee. She was involved with the Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania for many years, as both the director of the Hi-Lo Day Camp in Elizabeth Township and a troop leader. She was a member of the McKeesport College Club, serving as president from 2009-10, and was a member of the Junior Committee of McKeesport Hospital (now University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – UPMC McKeesport), where she served on the Junior Committee’s Board and led the teen volunteer (“Candy Striper”) program. A certified elementary school teacher, she was a substitute teacher in local grade schools while raising her family. Nancy was a true servant-leader, always honoring others before herself and inspiring those around her to do better and be better. Family was of central importance to Nancy. She and George loved to ski with their four children, spending numerous family vacations in the Appalachians and the Rockies. She was an intrepid world traveler, visiting many countries with family and friends. A latecomer to golf, she enjoyed the challenge and camaraderie of the game, and was a member and treasurer of the Women’s Golf Association at Youghiogheny Country Club. She also played in a local women’s bridge club for more than 60 years. Other interests included counted cross stitch, sewing, and knitting. Babies across the country have donned her signature pumpkin hats, and several of her cross-stitch samplers are in the permanent collection of historic Wheatland, also known as the James Buchanan House, in Lancaster, Pa. She is survived by her children, Dr. Kyle Archer Walk of Elizabeth Township, Krista (Dr. Theodore Jr.) Sames of Forward Township, Knox Thomas (Kimberly) Walk of Elizabeth Township, and Dr. Kerry (Dr. Maggie Browning) Walk of Philadelphia; grandchildren, Dr. Ryan McMahon (Dr. Jill Krapf) Walk of Tampa, Fla., Brendan George Walk of Elizabeth Township, Caitlin Ruth Walk (Jeff Usher) of Fort Collins, Colo., Kerriane Sames of Forward Township, Wesley Walk Sames of Ambridge, Pa., and Thomas George (Aileen Bay) Walk of Falls Church, Va.; step-grandchildren, Alan (Stephanie) Shank of Homer City, Pa., and Brian (Noel) Shank of Indiana, Pa.; great-grandchildren, Declan, Reid and Madison Walk, Sullivan Claire Usher and Hadley Erin Walk; and step-great-grandchildren, Kiera Chichy, Emerson and Crosby Shank and Edward and Jaxson Shank. Family and friends will gather from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, April 21, 2024, at STRIFFLERS OF WHITE OAK CREMATION AND MORTUARY SERVICES INC., 1100 Lincoln Way, White Oak, PA 15131 (Sue Striffler Galaski, supervisor, 412-678-6177). A second gathering will take place on Monday, April 22, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Mount Vernon Community Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth Township, 2200 Buena Vista Road, McKeesport, PA 15135. Services will follow at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, April 22, 2024, at Mount Vernon Community Presbyterian Church. Burial will be at Jefferson Memorial in Pleasant Hills alongside her late husband, George. Remembrances may be made to Mount Vernon Community Presbyterian Church at 2200 Buena Vista Road, McKeesport, PA 15135 or by visiting mtvernonpc.org, or to Southeast Regional Emergency Medical Services at 2121 Century Drive, Jefferson Hills, PA 15025 or by visiting serems.com. To share a memory or condolence, visit strifflerfuneralhomes.com.