Meredith (Marty) Walton Obituary (2020)

Meredith ("Marty") Walton, born June 30, 1936 in Media, Pennsylvania, passed away on June 11, 2020. She was surrounded by members of her family including her life partner of 31 years, Linda Lyman. Marty and Linda lived in Kennebunk and Springvale, Maine since 2004. Marty was known for her warmth, love of family and friends, spirit of adventure, openness, and her remarkable ability to listen and support others without judgment.Marty was passionate about geology and the natural world, and graduated from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts in Geology. Any road trip or hike with Marty was strengthened by her knowledge and appreciation of the surrounding geological formations. Marty was a lifelong Quaker and served on numerous Quaker committees, including the Friends General Conference Nominating Committee, Executive Committee, and Board of Directors. She attended many Quaker gatherings during her life, and developed countless deep friendships with Quaker connections. Marty was an excellent communicator, and had served as a customer service manager and office manager for MPI Labels in Sebring, Ohio and Stockton, California from 1979-1985. This combination of practical business experience and Quaker volunteer involvement led to her selection as Friends General Conference General Secretary in Philadelphia from 1986-1992, a position in which she grew as a leader and mentor. Throughout Marty's adult life, she was a member of Quaker Meetings. In Bellingham, Washington and Southern Maine Friends Meetings she nurtured the spiritual growth of each "Blessed Community."Marty was strongly influenced by her Walton family heritage, and she felt that family history should be preserved and shared. In the mid-1990s, Marty and Linda started "The Storehouse Collection of Memories," a business devoted to the creation of unique and personalized life story books. This led to Marty's involvement with the Association of Personal Historians (APH), for whom Marty was a founding member, treasurer, and Operations Manager from 2004-2011. Marty helped APH grow from a fledgling organization to a more established association, in which she developed strong relationships across the globe.Marty also contributed her time and talents to numerous organizations and causes for social justice over the years, including "Hands Off Washington" in Bellingham, Washington in the early 1990s. She and Linda also created the "Brown Bag Lunch" series in Bellingham, which offered a voice and platform to a variety of grassroots organization in Washington. In the Sanford, Maine area, Marty volunteered on several political campaigns and offered support as Treasurer as recently as 2018.After moving to Springvale, Marty broadened her spiritual base at the Sanford Unitarian Universalist Church where she developed many relationships close to her heart. She played in the bell choir, volunteered for The Corner Cupboard, enjoyed luncheon meetings with the Women's Alliance, and continued her spiritual quest in the Geography of Grace group.Marty's interests and talents were broad and she embraced new roles throughout many chapters of her life. She was an avid learner, homemaker, designer, builder, and gardener. She was a dairy goat farmer, artist, and candle-maker. She was a mother, a daughter, and a sister. She was a wife, a life partner, and a loving "Grandmommy." Perhaps above all, Marty was an adventurer, and she truly lived life in that spirit - open, trusting, and interested in what is around the next bend. Marty traveled the United States several times with friends and family, and she also had trips to Colombia, Canada, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Austria. Some of her greatest joys were road trips. The journey itself was as enjoyable as the destination, whether it was observing migratory birds in Florida's marshes, driving across the High Plains of Texas, exclaiming over rocks in Utah, or hiking in the Cascade Mountain range. The path of her travels did not need to be direct, and meandering routes and back roads were preferred. Marty's life story includes homes in greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Miami, Florida; Deerfield, Illinois (including graduating from Highland Park High School in 1954); Bloomington, Indiana; several towns in Ohio including Youngstown, Minerva, and Dayton; Stockton, California; Bellingham, Washington; and finally to Kennebunk and Springvale, Maine.Without question, Marty's greatest love was her family. She is survived by her life partner Linda Lyman, of Springvale, Maine; her son Doug Vinson and daughter-in-law Carla Cabibi of Atlanta, Georgia; her son Dean Vinson and daughter-in-law Tracy Vinson of St. Paris, Ohio; her son Scott Vinson and daughter-in-law Patricia Smith-Vinson of Cleveland Heights, Ohio; and her daughter Julia Vinson Ladd and son-in-law Butch Dymkowski of Kennebunk, Maine.Marty is also survived by seven grandchildren, with whom she forged loving relationships and of whom she was extraordinarily proud: Jordan Weiss of South Amboy, New Jersey; Jessica Vinson of Richmond, Virginia; Jennica Vinson of Chicago, Illinois; Emily Vinson of Cleveland, Ohio; Nathan Ladd of Boston, Massachusetts; Andrew Ladd of Kennebunk, Maine; and Victoria Ladd of Kennebunk, Maine.Marty is also survived by her sister Eleanor Merritt of Gainesville, Florida; her sister Jaiyh Amatuli of Seattle, Washington; her first cousins Barbara Darling of Albuquerque, New Mexico and Susan Schnick of Littleton, Colorado; numerous beloved second cousins, nephews, and a beloved niece; and her former husband of 17 years, Wayne Vinson of Minerva, Ohio. Marty was a proud descendent of George and Emily Walton and their daughters, "The Five Walton Sisters." Alice "Allie" Walton, Marty's mother, was a feminist, activist, and Quaker leader, and she -- along with her sisters Jean, Dora, Ruth, and Peg -- modeled the strength, independence, grit, and integrity that inspired and shaped the full course of Marty's life.A Celebration of Life will be planned by family and friends at a later time. Should you wish to make a charitable donation, please contribute to Hospice of Southern Maine, 180 U.S. Route One, Scarborough, ME, 04074, phone number 866-621-7600, in memory of Meredith Walton.