North Dakota Obituaries
The Bismarck Tribune 04/17/2003
Carrie Higginbotham Walters (1901-2003)
KY/NM/TX/OK/IN/MI/SD/ND
Carrie Walters, 101, Bismarck, died April 15, 2003, at her son's home.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday at Bethel Apostolic Church,
Buchanan, Mich. Burial will be in Forrest Lawn Cemetery, Three Oaks, Mich.
Visitation will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. today at Boelter-Eastgate Funeral
Service, 200 W. Turnpike Ave., Bismarck, where a prayer service will be held at
7 p.m., with her son, the Rev. David Walters officiating.
Mrs. Walters was born Oct. 2, 1901, at Cable, Ky., the daughter of Joseph L. and
Ona (Cook) Higginbotham, and has lived in several states. As a child, her family
moved to New Mexico where she lived on the desert in an adobe house. Later, they
moved to Texas, and then from Texas to Oklahoma in a covered wagon. She often
commented that she had gone from ox carts to jet planes.
While living in the Laporte, Ind., area she met and married Ernest Walters on
Aug. 30, 1920. Before moving to Buchanan they lived in New Carlisle, Ind., Three
Oaks and Galien, Mich.
Mrs. Walters lived in the Buchanan area for over 70 years. She made her home on
Walnut Street for over 50 years, before moving to Millpond where she lived for a
number of years.
Because of a date given during the 1920 census, she was told by the Social
Security Administration that her birth-date was 1899. For many years this has
been a topic of discussion and fun among her family and friends. In keeping with
the information on Oct. 2, 1999, family and friends gathered at Bethel Apostolic
Church in Buchanan, to be with her as she celebrated her "100th birthday".
During this time while visiting in Buchanan for a few weeks, Mrs. Walters was
able to be with all of her children and to be present at the dedication of one
of many great-great-grandchildren. Five generations were present for the
birthday and dedication celebrations. She went on to celebrate two more 100th
birthdays with lots of fun and family; she loved a party. She loved life until
the very last breath and just a few days before her passing she wrote a note of
the sunshine and blue sky and the birds singing.
Because of failing health she moved to Aberdeen, S.D., to live with her daughter
and son-in-law, Barbara and Carl Thurston. For the past several years, she has
divided her time between Aberdeen and Bismarck, and for the past year has made
her home with her son in Bismarck.
She is survived by her two daughters and three sons, Barbara (Carl) Thurston,
Aberdeen, Janiece (Marvin) Arnold, Utica, Mich., Charles R. (Ann) Walters,
Byron, Ga., David O. (Atha) Walters, Bismarck, and Paul (Esther) Walters,
Statesville, N.C.; 22 grandchildren; 59 great-grandchildren; 20
great-great-grandchildren; one sister, Mrs. Eva Skiles, South Bend, Ind.; and
many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Joyce Emily; her husband; her
parents; and several brothers and sisters.