Serving Our Seniors Magazine July - Sept 2023

She retired in October of 2021 and is having no trouble adjusting, after working 36 years at Pepperidge Farms, in Willard, Ohio. “God is number one in my life and I thank him every day for my life.” Her hobby is baking. “I love to bake and am probably best known for my Punch Bowl Cake. Believe it or not it is made in a punch bowl.” Like Dawn and Darlene, she loves to sing. Her favorite artist is Whitney Houston. “Singing is just so natural for me. It’s like breathing.” She has sung songs at events, i.e., birthdays, funerals, concerts in the parks and is also well known for her singing voice. She has never had voice training and said, “Everything I have came as a natural gift from above. She and her husband sing together every Sunday at Faith Christian Ministries. Lolita is as excited as Dawn about the idea of forming a band. They are both hopeful this article will connect them with others who would enjoy making this band a reality. Darlene Walk, is a widow. She was married to the late Preston Lorenzo Walk for 39 years. She is a mother of two children. A daughter, Shantrel Onique Walk, who is now deceased and a son Julian Ashley Walk. She also has a grand-dog named “Blue.” She enjoys helping people. “The more I do, the better I feel. It keeps me busy, which is good because an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” She fills multiple roles as a volunteer. Two of which is to help Serving Our Seniors. She is also the President of the NAACP (just to name a few). Darlene loves to sing. “I feel like a totally different person when I’m singing. When I’m performing I want to give the audience my very best. I am so glad I met Lolita and Dawn, because we share a common bond in music. We all love to sing.” At age 9, Darlene started singing opera. “My mother listened to opera and wanted me to have my voice trained. Mrs. Nellie Bailey-Miller was my first formal voice training instructor. I remember, when she heard me sing the scales, she told my mother, ‘She is the next Marian Anderson or Leontyne Price.’ At that time, I didn’t even know who these people were.” As a teenager, Darlene wanted to sing modern day classical and pop music of her era (Barbara Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin). Her next voice teacher was Mrs. Beverly Mayer, the mother of Jackie Mayer, Miss America 1963. Darlene started singing in numerous recitals and for competition. At age 12, Darlene sang “Born Free,” at BGSU with over a 1,000 people in the stadium. “That was a thrill,” she said. “I remember receiving a standing ovation. When I got off stage I cried, I was so happy.” Darlene is still quite the crooner. She is a member of the ever popular, Sandusky singing group, The J-Markz with Jimmy Jackson, Jake Marshall, and Ken Wood. Most recently, Darlene joined the new intergenerational choir at Sandusky High School, called Ageless Harmony, which started in January 2023 and performed at Serving Our Seniors spring show. When I asked her, “What should we tell the readers about the upcoming concert at Senior Fest 2023?” she said, “Come in, sit back, relax and enjoy the show!” 11