Obituary: Walch, Gene Evelyn
Born Gene Evelyn Graham in Colville, WA, she was the daughter of her beloved parents, Clara and Grover Graham and sister to one brother, Grover Graham Jr. She attended college at the University of Washington in Seattle and graduated in 1941 with a B.S.
degree and teaching certificate.
She was an active member in the Pi Beta Phi sorority.
After teaching high school in Lynden, WA for one year, she married Edgar Filion (deceased).
Edgar joined the navy during World War II and duty resulted in a number of moves to different bases in cities throughout the U.S.
They finally settled in California in 1959.
Gene moved to Pebble Beach, CA in 1979, where she lived for 29 years.
In 2008, she relocated to the Forest Hill Manor where she made many new friends among the residents and the caring staff.
Gene taught English at the Berlitz Language School where she made many friends among her foreign students and would visit them over the years in Europe.
Gene loved to travel and was remarried in 1977 to Ralph Walch (deceased) after having met on a European tour.
When not travelling, she was devoted to helping others and was an avid volunteer at several organizations including the Palo Alto Congressional Church, the P.E.O.
Sisterhood, the Carmel Woman’s Club and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Gene was a prolific painter and a member of the Central Coast Art Association where she served on the executive board for over 30 years.
She joined the Venture Gallery in Monterey, CA where she was able to showcase her expressive artwork with her love for vivid colors.
Gene also loved baseball, a tribute to her father who also loved the sport, and she was a great San Francisco Giants fan.
Gene Walch is survived by her four children: Jan Geller, Cheryl Lopez, Francel Smith, Graham Filion, and her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Gene loved her parents greatly and her ashes will be interred at their gravesite in Colville, WA.