Diane Walker

Diane W. Walker, 91, passed peacefully on December 20, 2019 at Saint Mary home West Hartford CT. Born in East Orange, N.J., Diane Eloise Wheaton was the beloved daughter of Henry Clay and Clara Sue. Wheaton, and sister to William Miller Wheaton. She is a graduate of Clifford Scott High, Edgewood Park Junior College and Parsons. School of Design. She was an accomplished concert pianist, painted in both oil and watercolor; yet her passion was fashion. She worked several years in NYC, at an ad agency as a fashion illustrator, sketching high fashion newspaper clothing adds. She met her husband Joseph R. Gilhooly, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business, through her bother Bill at a Sigma Phi Epsilon social. Diane is survived by her children, Stephen J. Gilhooly and wife Lisa of Falmouth, MA. and Linda G. Quirk and husband Brian of West Hartford, CT. She was the proud and loving “Nan” to grandchildren Terrence A. Gilhooly and wife Haley of Boston, MA., Kimberly Quirk Donovan and husband Patrick of Arlington, VA., Brian A. Quirk and wife Liliana of NYC, NY, and Duncan C. Quirk and wife Ashley of Brooklyn, NY, and great grandchildren, Gisele. Quirk, Ian and Ike Donovan, and Evelyn Quirk. Diane was a longtime resident of Wellesley Hills, MA. and Quail Ridge, Boynton Beach, FL. She was a member of the Wellesley Country Club, Algonquin Club, Oyster Harbor, Quail Ridge and Delray Beach Club. She was an avid tennis player, loved bridge, and enjoyed the arts. She remarried in 1997 and she and her predeceased husband, Robert Walker, enjoyed spending time between Quail Ridge and West Hyannisport, MA. She moved to The McAuley, West Hartford, CT in 2010 to be near her daughter. Always a lady, Diane was a loving, caring person with an engaging smile for all. Meticulous in who she was and all she did, she made life just a little more beautiful for all. Service will be at the Molloy Funeral Home, West Hartford, CT, Friday, December 27 from 8:30-9:30 am., and interment will follow at Graceland Memorial Park, Kenilworth, NJ. At 1:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations could be made to the Alzheimer’s Association: www.alz.org