FANNY WALKER
Fanny Walker, known in Spain and Puerto Rico as Paquita Allison, 93, died
on January 14, 2008, at her home in Rincon, Puerto Rico. She was born December
3, 1914, in Quito Ecuador, and baptized Fanny Wilhemina Barberis Romero.
In 1930, she married John Joralemon Davenport (deceased) in the church of
“La Compańia” in Quito. Thereafter, she moved to the United States with
her husband and proudly became a Naturalized U. S. Citizen. The couple settled
in Brooklyn Heights, New York City, moving to Mamaroneck (Westchester County),
New York, in 1948. As events passed, she married William H. Walker in Mamaroneck,
with whom she moved to Spain in 1970. A few years after his passing, she
married Ivor G. Allison, a British subject, in Benalmadena Pueblo, Spain.
Her residences included Quito, Ecuador (16 years), Brooklyn Heights, New York City (18 years), Mamaroneck, New York, now known as Rye Neck, Rye, New York (22 years), Torremolinos and Benalmadena Pueblo, Spain (22 years) and Rincon, Puerto Rico (16 years).
During her long and productive life, Fanny belonged to the Junior League of Brooklyn, Henrietta’s Altar Guild of St. Thomas’Episcopal Church in Mamaroneck, New York, the British Society of Benalmadena Pueblo, Spain, the American Club in Fuengirola, Spain, the Mayaguez Seniors’ Bridge Club in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, the Senior Citizens Center in Rincon, Puerto Rico, the Rincon chapter of Altrusa and the Rincon Chapter of the Association of Puerto Rican and American Mothers.
When she left Mamaroneck to move to Spain, she wrote 16 letters of resignation to the many clubs, church and civic groups to which she belonged.
The honors received by her include winning a televised dance contest in 1956. She won for her dancing of the tango. The prize was a two-week, all expenses paid trip to Bermuda. Over the course of many years, she gave exhibitions of South American dances and taught many civic groups the intricate steps and nuances inherent to each dance.
Other high honors received by her include the “Model Mother of Rincon”(1997) and Queen of the Rincon Senior Citizens Center (2007). She was entered in an island-wide competition of the Association of Puerto Rican and American Mothers with 35 other entrants. She won as first runner-up (2007).
During the devastating earthquake that struck Ecuador in 1949, she organized and successfully completed a drive to send massive amounts of clothing and other essentials to Quito from the United States. She was recognized for her efforts by the Ecuadorean Consul to the United States.
Her legacy includes her three children, all of whom survive her, and all of whom were born in Brooklyn Heights, New York City. They are Raquel Davenport Boehmer, Hank Davenport Barberis and Jacqueline Davenport. She is also survived by her much-loved partner, Joseph Bolduc of Rincon, Puerto Rico.
Religious services and a vigil were held in Rincon, Puerto Rico, on January 17. A mass was held in Quito, Ecuador on Saturday, January 26. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the National Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.