Maxine Walls

Sara Maxine Walls (née Wallace) peacefully departed this world on Sunday, November 14, in Austin, Texas, just shy of her 98th birthday. She leaves behind a loving family, who remembers her as a warm, feisty woman with a deep love of God.

Maxine was born November 17, 1923, in Hemlock, OR, to Oran and Bessie Wallace. She is predeceased by her parents, her sisters Lillian and Vivian, her brother Bill, and her husband of 67 years, Floyd Walls.

She graduated from Nampa High School in Nampa, ID in 1942. She soon met her husband Floyd, in Nampa for Army basic training, at a dance in town (a dance to which she had taken a different date!). During WWII, she worked at the navy ship yards in Bremerton, WA, as a crane operator, setting gun turrets on battleships. (They gave her the job because she was tall enough to see over the controls.)

Maxine wrote letters to Floyd through the war, and in 1945 when Floyd was discharged, he traveled to Bremerton to ask her to marry him. She did, six weeks later, on September 22, 1945, and soon had their first daughter, Sue Ann Clugage (Walls). When little Susie was 6 months old, they moved to Corpus Christi, TX.

Years later, Floyd bought a lumber yard (Walls Lumber) and moved to Sinton, TX. There Maxine and Floyd raised Susie and their two later children, James Walls and Linda Boatman (Walls). They were well-known, active participants in the community and members of First Baptist Church of Sinton, where Floyd was a deacon for many years and Maxine taught Sunday School.

Upon retirement, Maxine and Floyd moved to Mathis, TX, to live on the lake. They attended First Baptist Church of Mathis and spent a great deal of time teaching their grandchildren to fish and playing endless games of dominoes in which Maxine always overbid her hand. She was a cherished cook, serving up produce from Floyd’s kitchen garden with the two Fry Babies on her kitchen counter (one for hush puppies and one for everything else).

Maxine was charming, funny, and always curious. A life-long learner, she loved her women’s study club and planning lessons for Sunday School. She read the newspaper every day from front to back. She followed the NFL closely and watched treasured films on Turner Classic Movies.

Maxine is survived by her three children, Sue Ann Clugage, James Walls, and Linda Boatman, as well as her grandchildren Julie, Kevin, and Sara Clugage, and Zachary and Jake Walls, as well as 12 beloved great-grandchildren.

A graveside service will be held at Sinton Cemetery at 10am on Saturday, November 20. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local hospice.

Guestbook available online at www.resthavenfunerals.com

Arrangements and care entrusted to Resthaven Funeral Home, Sinton.

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