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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Linda Walker, who was recently named Cupertino's Citizen of the Year 2001, is a member of Cupertino Community Services, Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation, and is president of the Youth Science Institute.
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Walker is 'Citizen of the Year'
She has overcome adversity to remain active in Cupertino
By GEORGE MOORE
An auto accident 13 years ago last Valentine's Day left Linda Walker paralyzed from the chest down. An avid golfer and active member in the community, Walker spent three months recovering at Valley Medical Center. A friend donated a large sum of money in her name to the Valley Medical Center Foundation during her stay. Released on a Friday, she was back the following Monday, touring the rehabilitation center to decide where the money could best be put to use. Walker was back to getting involved.
"She didn't slow down at all," said Dorothy Stow, a friend who nominated Walker for Citizen of the Year for 2001.
Asked why Walker deserved such an honor, Stow replied, "You got a couple of days?"
Walker was chosen by a committee formed within the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce and will be recognized as Citizen of the Year for 2001 at the STAR Awards Banquet March 9 at Louis Village in San Jose, located at 1465 W. San Carlos. STAR stands for Service, Teamwork, Achievement and Recognition, and spells out the criteria, which are based on contributions in such areas as governmental affairs, education, civic and community service.
Mark Burns of Coldwell Banker, and president-elect of the Chamber, was on the selection committee.
"She's been involved in the community for a lot of years," Burns said. "There were many great people to choose from, but Linda was just a natural choice. She was absolutely deserving of it."
Walker and her husband, Jim, moved to the area in 1968, living in San Jose on the doorstep of Cupertino. They wanted to be incorporated into Cupertino and got involved working with the city in an effort to do so. Jim, who retired seven years ago from the construction industry, built their current home in 1978 in the foothills of Cupertino.
Walker is the mother of three sons and has three grandchildren. She was a member of the PTA and was involved with Little League for many years and also coached and refereed girls soccer.
"Jim wouldn't let me adopt a girl, so I 'adopted' a bunch of girls," Walker said.
She is currently a member of CCS and Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation and is president of Youth Science Institute. She said she has worked on almost every city election, recently backing Orrin Mahoney's campaign for city council.
During her three months in the hospital, Walker said, she had visitors every day.
"I just had so many good friends take time to visit me, I thought I just had to give back to these people," Walker said. "So I stayed involved in golf clubs--doing everything I did before and then some."
Jim Walker said the whole family is obviously very proud that Linda's being recognized for her community work. He said Linda truly never has a bad day and is always upbeat.
"While Linda was in the hospital, I was almost worried because she was so optimistic," he said. "The doctor told us when a person has a traumatic experience, the kind of person they were before is magnified. Linda has always had a very positive attitude."
Jim said if he travels somewhere alone, Linda kind of enjoys it.
"She thinks that I'm high maintenance," he joked. "She enjoys her independence."
Stow said Linda has a great attitude and is a nice person to be around.
"She is always willing to do the dirty work behind the scenes," Stow said. "She's the most deserving person of this award in the community."
Walker said she loves to volunteer and does so with a smile. She said she takes it very seriously, but is relaxed at the same time, not showing any stress--one of the reasons she thinks people enjoy working with her. She said there are many people in Cupertino who qualified for the award.
"I think it's a wonderful community that people want to help and get involved with," Walker said.
The Walkers took part in the Rotary of Cupertino's trip to Texcoco, Mexico, last November to deliver 240 wheelchairs to disabled people who cannot afford them.
"That was a wonderful experience, knowing what they were going through and myself being so fortunate," Walker said. "Some of the disabled could only crawl to get around. It was probably more difficult for me to see because I've been so lucky."
One of Walker's friends told her they don't even think of her as being in a wheelchair because she goes everywhere everybody else goes and is so active in the community.
"I'll definitely always stay involved," Walker said, adding that she is on the CCS Barbecue Committee and the CEEF Golf Tournament Committee. "You never know what's around the corner or who's around the corner to get you involved in something else."
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
