Virginia Walter came home to Clarkston to celebrate her 100th birthday with friends and family at Deer Lake Racquet Club in late August.
Mrs. Walter, who currently lives in Milwaukee, arrived in Clarkston in the fall of 1933 to teach English and history at Clarkston High School.
She soon became the girls? basketball coach. Former high school students remember she did not accept failure and nurtured her students to succeed.
Before coming to Clarkston, she grew up on a farm in Ypsilanti, Mich., attended a one room school house and graduated from Ypsilanti High School and Michigan Normal College, now Eastern Michigan University.
She met her husband Ronald Addis Walter, a lifelong resident of Clarkston and an attorney shortly after coming to Clarkston. They were married in 1936 and together raised three children.
The Walter family operated a dry goods and men’s furnishing business in the 5 S. Main Street building in downtown Clarkston, home of The Clarkston News.
While living in Clarkston, Virginia served as a village planning commissioner, sesquicentennial chairperson, historian, Clarkston Farm and Garden president, Rotary Ann, and devoted member of Clarkston United Methodist Church.
She was also known for her daily walks around Mill Pond and her annual Memorial Day party. She continues to be active in her retirement.
? Joette Kunse