Barbara Burkholder, an agricultural pioneer, accountant, world traveler and mother, grandmother and great grandmother, died Wednesday in Green Valley following a brief illness. She was 98.
Burkholder, known as Bobbi or Bubba to her grandchildren, was born April 30, 1914, the second of James D. Culbertson and Bertha Eldredge Culbertson's four children.
The family lived in Santa Paula, Calif., where her father managed a large citrus and avocado farm that still thrives today. Burkholder graduated valedictorian from Santa Paula High School in 1931 and received a B.A. from Pomona College, in Claremont, Calif., in 1935.
Burkholder married R. Keith Walden in 1938. They started the beginnings of Farmers Investment Co. (FICO) in 1937 with a citrus nursery on leased land to grow replacement citrus trees. In 1949, the couple and their sons, Dick and Tom Walden, moved to Continental near Green Valley. FICO soon included cotton, cattle, sheep and grain.
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Burkholder worked as the FICO bookkeeper in a tiny adobe office, often joking she had received better accounting grades than her husband. She also played hostess to their many visitors, as there were no local hotels or restaurants. There were also no local supermarkets, so Burkholder prepared the family's milk, cheese, eggs and beef.
"I think she was a very progressive woman for her time," said her daughter-in-law, Nan Stockholm Walden. "She really pitched in like a partner in her husband's enterprises. And because there weren't many conveniences in rural Arizona during those days, she had to be very flexible and entrepreneurial and ready for anything."
Burkholder frequently traveled internationally with her husband to promote cotton. Burkholder's close friend, the now-deceased Tucson fashion mogul Cele Peterson, designed original cotton ensembles for her to wear during these trade events.
"She was well educated, a hat-and-gloves type of lady," Walden said. "I think she thought that there wasn't much she couldn't do if called upon, but I would say, at the same time, she had a gracious way about her."
Burkholder was active in the Republican Party and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1956. She was also a member of the Tucson Medical Center Auxiliary and was on Tucson Medical Center's Board of Directors for seven years.
Her son Dick Walden said his mother had high principles, was self-assured and loved a good game of bridge. "She also enjoyed a good laugh. She would say, 'A good laugh is good for the soul and good for health.'"
Burkholder and her husband divorced in 1967, and she moved to Corona del Mar, Calif., where she lived for 10 years. Burkholder married Robert S. Burkholder of San Francisco in 1977. Robert Burkholder was active in classic-car circles, and the couple traveled regularly for this, especially to England and Australia.
In 1992, Burkholder and her husband moved to Green Valley to be near her son Dick Walden, now president of FICO, the world's largest integrated grower and processor of pecans. Robert Burkholder died in 1994.
Burkholder continued traveling until last year and took an around-the-world jet tour when she was 87.
In addition to her son and daughter-in-law of Sahuarita, she is survived by her grandson, Richard T. (Rich) Walden of Sahuarita; granddaughter, Deborah Walden Ralls, her husband, David Ralls, and their sons, William T. Ralls and Jackson D. Ralls, all of Chandler. She is also survived by her two brothers, Warren "Toops" Culbertson of Sahuarita and James D. Culbertson Jr. of Ventura, Calif.
Burkholder will be laid to rest next to her late son, Thomas Eldredge Walden, who died in 1973. At her request no public services will be held.
To Donate
Donations in memory Barbara Burkholder can be made to Pomona College, c/o Barbara C. Burkholder Memorial Fund, Office of Gifts, 333 N. College Way, Claremont, CA 91711. Donations can also be made online at www.pomona.edu/give.
Contact reporter Patty Machelor at 806-7754 or pmachelor@azstarnet.com
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