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Catherine McIlhenny Walker Stradley, 100, widow of Leighton Paxton Stradley, Jr., died July 11, 2011 at Bryn Mawr Hospital, Bryn Mawr, PA. Born April 5, 1911 in Philadelphia, PA, she was the daughter of the late Rev. James Bentham Walker and Anna Gertrude Wilson Walker. The Walker family moved to Sumter, SC in 1917. She graduated from Sumter High School (1928) and Winthrop College (1932). After graduating she taught first grade in a four room schoolhouse in Sumter County during the depression. She married in 1935, returning to Philadelphia with her husband who was a lawyer at Stradley Ronan Stevens and Young. After Leighton returned from service in the World War II they moved to Bryn Mawr where they restored an historic farmstead and created acres of gardens. She was a devoted volunteer at the Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, PA. There she served on the altar guild , the Women of the Church, the Sunday school and was one of the first women on the vestry where she worked extensively to expand the scope of the outreach committee. She was also involved in school and scout activities. As a member of the Colonial Dames, she was a docent at Stenton House and made historical presentations at local schools. In her later years, she traveled extensively and divided her year between The Quadrangle in Haverford and her beloved Sumter. In her long and full life she had many and varied interests. Her curiosity led her into music, literature, poetry, art, history, nature, travel, human events and on and on and she was knowledgeable in them all. She loved and was loved in return by family and friends. Surviving are her four children: Catherine Lynd S. Meyer and husband Arno of Malvern, PA; Judith Rutledge S. Louderback and husband Stanley of Wilmington, VT; Leighton Paxton Stradley III and wife Mary T. Stradley of Fairfax, VA; Virginia Poyas S. Jenks and husband Robert of Greenwich, CT; and grandchildren: Deborah L. Fisher and husband Karl, Harry E. Fiorentino, Paul H. Ellis, Jr, and wife Monika; Jameson S. Ellis and wife Jill Musnicki; Elliot W. Jenks and wife Anne; Catherine J. Jenks, Lillian S. Jenks; Allie M. Barchi, Erich Meyer, great grand children: Amanda, Stephanie, Emily & Sarah Fisher; Gordon and Suzanne Ellis and Ravenel M. Ellis; Erich & Elizabeth Barchi, Erica & Danielle Meyer: a sister, Helen Walker Haltiwanger of Greenville, SC., and many beloved nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband, a brother, Dr. Robert Murdoch Walker and three sisters: Mary Wilson Walker, Elizabeth Walker Edmunds and Virginia Walker Bland. Funeral services will be held Friday July 15 at 11am at the Church of the Redeemer, Pennswood Road and New Gulph Road, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010. Funeral arrangements are provided by the Chadwick & McKinney Funeral Home, 30 East Athens Avenue, Ardmore, PA, 19003. The family wishes to express its gratitude to Jefferson Hospice for their faithful and compassionate care. Memorial donations may be made to the “Outreach Fund” at Church of the Redeemer, 230 Pennswood Road, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 or to Friends of Swan Lake, PO Box 1754 Sumter, SC 29150.

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Catherine Walker Stradley

July 11, 2011