Delores Cortez Walker passed away Sept. 10, 2026, in her hometown of Blacksburg.
The eldest of five siblings, she was born May 7, 1948, to Beatrice Freeman Walker and William L. Walker. Delores’s roots in the New River Valley ran deep, as she came from a family that has been in Blacksburg and the New River Valley for generations.
She graduated valedictorian from the historic Christiansburg Institute (C.I.) in 1966, as part of the last graduating class. As a student, she was a class officer and cheerleader and was inducted into the Order of the Eastern Star. Growing up, Delores often told stories of cooking for local fraternity houses, or volunteering with community organizations like Head Start.
Following high school, Delores attended Norfolk State University where she became a member of the National Society of Pershing Angels and earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts. She held many professional roles in her life, including Analyst with the Norfolk City Police Department, employee with Norfolk’s Model Cities Program, Teacher’s Aide in Hickory, North Carolina and group home counselor, also in Hickory.
While living in Blacksburg, she managed and grew the YMCA free university program, was a baker at Our Daily Bread, and was a long-term employee with AT&T. She was also a proud and active volunteer with the Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association, and 4-H.
Along with her dry wit and irreverent sense of humor, Delores was known as an outstanding cook, baker and plant mom. Based on a staunch belief that everyone is equal, she was also a fierce advocate, activist and volunteer for civil rights in all its forms. Delores instilled a lifelong love of learning, pride in family and Black history, and most of all, she was a loving, supportive, and giving mother to her only daughter Latanya.
She is survived by her daughter, Latanya Walker, her brother, Leo D. Walker, and her half-sister, Michelle Walker, along with several cousins, nieces and nephews, and friends.
No service is currently scheduled. Rather, her family asks that pictures, videos, and stories be shared here: https://www.online-tribute.com/DeloresWalker.
Feel free to share in any format that works for you, including audio and video. What are your favorite things about Delores? What would you like her family to know? What makes you laugh when you think of her? Did she support you through something? Do you have pictures you would like to add to the photo collage that will be created?
Please help preserve her memory by sharing yours.
