Lisbeth Rugen Walker

Lisbeth Rugen Walker, 67, retired employee of Stanley Land & Lumber, died Tuesday, November 11, 2014, in the comfort of her home and surrounded by the love of family and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Elizabeth & Vernon Rugen of Cedar Falls, Iowa. She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Philip Walker of Drakes Branch; her brothers, Jeff Rugen of Cedar Falls and David Rugen Karen of Seattle, WA; her dear friend and sister-in-law, Barbara Walker Noll Jack of Christiansburg, VA; and her niece and nephew, Lindsay and Alex Rugen, of Seattle. She received a degree in textile and clothing design from Iowa State University, and was a charter member of the Charlotte County Master Gardeners and The Southside Herb Society. Liz was a free spirit who preferred to concentrate on the beautiful things in life – good food preferably desserts, good books mostly mysterious, nice clothes, her slightly out-of-control gardens, and especially her many friends. Liz cherished her friends, and her special ones, Eve, Barbara, Sharon, & Kathy, made her final days more bearable. She was also very proud that her brothers, though located across the country, kept the family Christmas tradition alive by finding their way to Drakes Branch each year.
Liz was a Midwestern city girl who loved her life in rural Virginia. It was here that she discovered her passion for gardening, and she spent endless hours establishing an eclectic collection of native and exotic plants. Every corner of the yard was potentially a new flower bed. For Liz, there was nothing more rewarding or uplifting than a wildflower expedition through the woods of Charlotte County.
Liz’s courage in her four year battle with cancer was an inspiration to those who knew her. She viewed it as a temporary inconvenience and refused to let it diminish her life-long interest in fashion and looking good. Even the relentless effects of three surgeries, chemotherapy, and multiple radiation treatments couldn’t dampen her spirit – as one friend put it, “no one should look so good in a scarf!”
Liz’s family will receive friends at the Browning-Duffer Funeral Home in Keysville, VA, on Friday, November 14 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., with graveside services to be held Saturday, November 15, at 2 p.m., at the Drakes Branch Presbyterian Church Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Barksdale Cancer Foundation or the Charlotte County Truckers’ Parade Against Cancer. The Browning-Duffer Funeral Home in Keysville, VA, is in charge of arrangements.