Annette Walters

Annette Walters, 70, of Ottawa, passed away Saturday, June 1, 2024 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, with her loving family by her side.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, June 5, from 4:00pm until 7:00pm at Ottawa Funeral Home. A visitation will also be held from 10:00am until the time of service on Thursday, June 6, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottawa. A funeral ceremony will follow at 11:00am at Trinity Lutheran Church, with Pastor Phil Potaczek officiating. Burial in Stavanger Lutheran Cemetery will be at a later date.

Annette was born November 27, 1953 in Gibson City, IL, to Walter and Phyllis (King) Larose. She married Robin Walters on June 16, 1979 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Seneca, Illinois.

Annette worked at her grandparent’s grocery store to pay her tuition to go to St. Francis Academy in Joliet where she graduated in 1971. She graduated from Illinois State University in 1975 with a degree in Health and Physical Education. She was very active in ISU’s Gamma Phi Circus where she performed juggling, trapeze, and ropes. She taught a year in the Joliet grade school system where she saw 1,000 students a week. She then got an opportunity to teach at Cornell High school in Cornell, Illinois where she met a young social studies and driver’s education teacher and were married for 45 years.

Her last job before retirement was Office Manager for Illinois Valley Oral Surgeons for Dr. Thomas Rooney, which she loved! During retirement she enjoyed spending time with her granddaughters and perfecting her pickleball game. She loved the sport and her pickleball family.

She is survived by her husband, Rob; her children, Brent (Jen) Walters, of Chicago and Nicole (Ray) Weems, of Ottawa; her granddaughters, Rowan and Eden Weems, and Aubrey Walters; her brother, Roger (Dolores) LaRose of Santa Fe; her sisters, Yvonne Larose, of Ottawa and Giselle (Barry) Matsui of Palm Springs; her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Karen and Tony Romano of Ottawa, and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

Pallbearers will be Roger Larose, Tony Ramano, Rick Scott, Bob Augustine, Dan Manullang, Tom Obrock, Darryl Anderson, Ray Weems, and Brent Walters.

Memorials may be directed to Trinity Lutheran Church at 717 Chambers St, Ottawa, Illinois.