Lorraine P. Walker
February 10, 2023. Lorraine is predeceased by her parents, Euclid "Chuck" & Clara Petit; brother, Raymond Petit; husband, Ralph "Whitey" Walker; & son-in-law, Michael Ferrauilo. She is survived by her children, Karen Walker, Michael (Debra) Walker, & Nancy Ferrauilo; grandchildren, Ashley (Bryan) Sobonya, Michael Walker, Olivia (James) Petronio, & Emily Ferrauilo; great-grandchildren, Addison Sobonya, Mason Sobonya, & Michael Petronio. Several nieces, nephews, cousins & dear friends. Lorraine's life story will be shared during her visitation at the funeral home, 1411 Vintage Lane (Between 390 & Long Pond Rd.), Thursday, February 16th, 4-7 PM. Her funeral mass will be celebrated, Friday, February 17th, 11 AM at St. Lawrence Church, 1000 N. Greece Rd., immediately following she will be laid to rest in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to a charity of your choice in Lorraine's memory. Remembering Lorraine Walker Mom's parents were both French Canadian and from Fall River, Massachusetts. Our grandparents were both from very large families: Our grandfather, Euclid (Chuck) Petit was 1 of 11 children and our grandmother, Clara Chabot, was 1 o...[more]View Full Online Obituary and Tributes
2 children. The Petit and the Chabot families lived on Raymond Street in Fall River. It was always an interesting story that 2 Chabot sisters and 1 Chabot brother married 2 Petit brothers and 1 Petit sister. The offspring of cousins were especially close, and Mom had many, many cousins, whom she loved dearly. Shortly after our grandparents married, they moved to Buffalo. Her brother, Ray, was born 9 years before Mom. She went to an all-girls Catholic high school in Buffalo called Bishop McMahon. Her father was a meat inspector, and he was transferred to a job in Rochester, New York. Her mother stayed behind in Buffalo with both kids so that Mom could graduate with her high school classmates and then they all joined her father in Rochester. Once in Rochester, her father wanted to help her get a job. Although Mom's dream job was to work for the telephone company as an operator talking to people all day long, he drove her to Kodak Office where she worked from 1955 until 1960 in Employee Benefits. Early after starting her job at Kodak Office, her new best friend, asked if she wanted to go out for a drink on Friday night. They went to The Post. It was a very special night out - as this was where our parents met. They quickly became a couple. Our Dad was going away for 2 years for the Army. They continued their relationship with love letters always SWAK. Dad was stationed in Long Branch, New Jersey. They became engaged and then it was even more difficult for them to be apart. It was short enough of a car ride for Dad to go AWOL - never getting caught by his superiors, but he did drive with inappropriate car registration, and he lost his license shortly before their wedding. Dad surprised Mom by studying Catholicism and converting before their marriage without Mom's pressure. Our parents were married at Annunciation Church on August 8, 1959. Their wedding reception was at Hedges in Webster. Hedges has always been one of her favorite restaurants for those special occasions. Since Dad still didn't have his driver's license, Mom had to drive on their honeymoon to the Poconos. Mom learned she was pregnant shortly after. Within a few months, and a lot of extra pounds, her doctor "felt" 3 legs" -- TWINS! It was quite a surprise, and they welcomed Michael and Karen in August of 1960. Dad only had his driver's permit, and Mom was his licensed driver - so he was able to drive her to the hospital. She stopped working at Kodak Office and became a housemaker. Dad was working full-time at Kodak Park and going to night school at RIT for mechanical drafting/engineering. Nancy was born in December of 1964 and their family was complete. These were very busy days for Mom, but she loved it. They moved to Ballad Avenue in Greece in 1965. The parents of the neighborhood had as much fun as the kids did. Every house had an Italian garage and there were countless parties and picnics for all. They enjoyed nights of playing cards, bocce, and charades. The dads helped each other put swimming pools in the backyards and helped shovel each other out of the driveway. The moms were busy planning projects for the dads to work on and always cooking. We had fun trips with our neighbors. There was one trip where we went camping - once. Our neighbors were and continue to be our extended family. In the early 1970s, Mom worked at Sibley's at Greece Town Mall in the credit office. She loved it and met more wonderful, lifelong friends. After a few years, she took some Civil Service tests and was hired in 1974 at Greece Central School District where she worked in the Purchasing Office until her retirement in 2000. Mom made friends very easily. She was fun to be with and she was loyal and remained friends with all for a very long time. She continued to socialize with her Kodak Office girls from the late 1950s, her Sibley's girls from the 1970s, and her Greece Central girls. Many vacations with their spouses, many dinners, and Broadway shows were shared through the years. These ladies shared so many wonderful days and they also supported each other through the difficult days as well. When Mike and Karen were in 7th grade at St. John's School, they met a Franciscan friar studying to become a priest. Mike invited him to our house to meet our parents. Our house was becoming a meeting place for friends to gather and what started as a quick introduction, turned into a very long friendship with Paul. He visited us every summer and each year the weekends turned into larger and larger gatherings of friends of all ages, mass in the backyard, and warm hospitality to all who came. Not only was our home an occasion for Paul's visits each summer, but countless people felt our parents' welcoming spirit and hospitality. There are many who can easily reference Mom as their 2nd Mom and our home as their 2nd home. They also had a French exchange student for a couple of years - another example of them opening their home and showing their warmth and hospitality. Everyone was welcome at the Walker home. We had many family vacations growing up. Niagara Falls was a yearly day trip for her birthday. We also had many car trips to Florida with Dad doing all the driving and Mom managing the Trip Tik. Our parents enjoyed all the Disney World trips and every other major attraction in Florida over the years. We also went to Cape Cod, Washington DC, the Outer Banks, and New York City. Eventually, our parents went on more trips with friends, neighbors, and cousins: cross country by train, San Francisco, Hawaii, Las Vegas, New Mexico, Myrtle Beach, Quebec, and several cruises. They enjoyed everything about traveling, except for the lost luggage and the broken nose. Mom went alone to Germany to visit Karen and they also flew to Rome and Florence. She loved that trip and was so proud she was able to travel by herself. Our Mom didn't have pets growing up ... but she treated our family to all kinds of animals: bunnies, cats, dogs, turtles, birds, and gerbils. Then she bought a Maltese dog. Those were her favorite. First, she had Bam-Bam, then she had Buttons, and then the last Maltese was Maggie who was her's and Dad's favorite companion. Mom and Dad went with Nancy and Mike and the girls to the Fern in Canada several years in a row. It was the perfect amount of relaxation, entertainment, good food, and sunshine. On our usual nights after dinner was going to Mary Lou's Lounge for nighttime entertainment. It was either a magician, hypnotist, Bingo, or ventriloquist. One night Mom said she and Dad were tired, and they were going to go to bed instead of the entertainment. We were a little surprised --- until at the end of our night, we ran into them in the parking lot, as they were coming back from the town's casino. Our Mom loved her family more than anything. She was always so proud that she was often caught talking to strangers about us. There were times we would be together at a restaurant, and in between ordering her meal, she could easily change the subject and tell the waitress that her son was the vice-principal or her grandson was living in California, or one of her great-grandchildren's stories. It didn't matter, any reason, any person, she was just so proud of her beloved family, she couldn't hold back to speak about them. Not only did she attend all our sporting events growing up, she also never missed an opportunity to attend all the grandchildren's events. Every 1st day of school, piano recital, school play, gymnastic event, tennis match, prom, all the graduations -- EVERYTHING. Our Mom also loved desserts! Meals weren't complete if they didn't include desserts. Her favorites were almost any flavor or ice cream - always with chocolate jimmies, rum cake, pineapple squares, and her delicious chocolate chip cookies which she made for every party, in her classic tin. As the grandkids grew up, she had to bring 2 tins to every party, as we all knew to look for the tin before dessert was brought out. For her 80th birthday party, we celebrated her way ... and the desserts were served first. Over the years, Mom learned all types of cross-stitch, needlepoint, crocheting, knitting, basket weaving, and making fleece blankets for everyone. She loved reading books, and gardening. She and Dad enjoyed bowling and joined several leagues. She collected Hummels. She and Dad enjoyed all card games: pinochle, euchre, poker, Uno, dominoes, and board games. They bought a speed boat and then a pontoon boat and had a trailer at Conesus Lake. Every summer weekend was spent at Conesus where they invited family and friends to join them. They systematically worked all week, then as soon as they got home Friday, they would pack up their car with their necessities. They enjoyed their trailer friends and enjoyed so much fun. Mom loved musical plays. She loved the Phantom of the Opera and Les Mis. She saw them multiple times. She belonged to the Rochester Broadway Shows for years with friends. After our parents retired, they loved going to the movie theater - but they got very creative studying the movie times and finishing the 1st movie and then walking into a 2nd movie - sometimes they even saw 3 movies. Her favorite musicians were Neil Diamond and Barbara Streisand - she even went to a Rolling Stones concert in Chicago. Since we were kids, Mom loved watching sports on TV. She always commented she must be the only woman who watched so many sports! Her favorites: • Tennis: she loved Venus and Serena Williams; she loved Roger Federer; She did not like: Novak Djokovic • Golf: She loved Tiger; she did not like Phil Mikelson • Basketball: She loved watching the Boston Celtics growing up and then Michael Jordan. • Football: She loved everything Buffalo Bills; she had a soft spot for Patrick Mahomes - until they beat the Bills; then she didn't like him anymore, but she still thought he was cute. • She loved watching the Olympics: She loved gymnastics and figure skating. Certainly, there were problems and crises in our family. We were not spared of health crisis. She was the strong one in the family. She'd pray and she'd encourage us. Her words were always "It's all in God's hands". A funny story about her apparel today: When it was time to shop for a dress for Ashley's wedding, her first thought was "I'll go to JC Penny's and look for a dress". We were going to Boston to see Olivia and I thought it would be fun to spend time shopping together for her dress. Since there wasn't a Penny's in the area we were in, I thought I would bring her to some very fancy stores to give her some fresh ideas. There was a beautiful Neiman Marcus in the mall. I expected it to be a little more than she would like, but it was a starting point. Fortunately (and unfortunately), she DID find a beautiful outfit. She was shocked at the price but decided she would get it and wear it to ALL her grandchildren's weddings, and she would be "Laid Out in it". Imagine the salesperson's expression when Mom told her she'd be buried in it. Yes, Mom is going to heaven in style - her Neiman Marcus green suit. Mom was the Matriarch. But the definition in the dictionary doesn't sum up everything she embodied. She taught us all so many more wholesome, nurturing qualities. She taught us the importance of family. Mom always looked forward to holidays and family gatherings. Being together was all that mattered to her. She gave us the security to grow up and learn through her example as a parent, and as a friend. She would do anything for all of us. She dedicated her whole life to all of us. She worked whatever job she had to do, to support us in what she wanted us to have. She will always be the one we want to please. We're sure that Mom is whole and well now. We're comforted that she is reunited with her Whitey. We imagine she is with all who have gone before her, meeting so many new people, and already bragging about her beloved family. We miss her so very much. Her legacy is her devotion to her family. Our parents will always live on in our hearts. We can continue to quote her, "as long as we're all together".
