Elesta Amelia Spitler Walborn (Toots), 88, of Fredericksburg, passed away on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at Cornwall Manor Health Center. She was the wife of Robert L. Walborn. They were married on Feb. 5, 1955, in the Lebanon parsonage of the late Rev. Pierce Swope, great uncle to Robert.
She is survived by four children, Robert B., and wife, Susan, Pamela D. Sigler, and husband, Ward, Gregory L., and wife, Lois, and Gwendolyn C. Stoner, and husband, Terry. There are nine grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren (17 surviving), and one great-great-grandchild.
Born on the family farm in the North Annville area, she was the daughter of the late W. Earl and Josephine Mary Elizabeth (Neidich) Spitler. She had three brothers (all deceased) Richard, Carl, and Dallas, and five sisters, Evelyn King and Gladys Lingle (both deceased), and survived by Bonnie Brajkovich, Joyce Kuhn, and Marna Leslie (Chick) Forry, and husband, David.
She was employed by the Department of Military Affairs at Fort Indiantown Gap after graduating from business school and, after raising her children, worked as a PBX operator-supervisor at Penn National Racecourse in Grantville. She was a lifetime member of the Fredericksburg American Legion Auxiliary, Unit 915, Fredericksburg Lionettes Club, and later, the Lions Club and the Women’s Bowling League at Swope and Walborn Lanes in Fredericksburg.
As a young girl, Toots was often found sitting in an apple tree reading a book. She carried her love of books and reading throughout her life. She loved houseplants and her flower gardens. She knew the Latin name of everything she grew and had the proverbial green thumb. Her vegetable gardens were also beautiful and bountiful. She was an outstanding cook and baker, known for her pies and her ability to cook for and host large holiday gatherings with extended family, which are fondly remembered. She looked forward to her annual trips to the beach and enjoyed those days throughout the years with sisters, friends, and family.
Funeral services will be on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at 11 a.m. at the Kreamer & Lum Funeral Home & Crematory, Jonestown. A viewing will be one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Fredericksburg.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Shriners Children’s Hospital at www.shrinerschildrens.org.