Submitted by Descendants: Frances Elaine McKENDREE & Robert Taylor KOEHLER
Annie Viola Walker, a pioneer of the Tampa Bay area, was a lifelong resident of Florida, having been born 23 August 188 in DeSoto County.
Viola was first married to Allen Whitted in 1900, and following his death she re-married to George T. McKendree, Sr. in 1920.
Viola lived her entire life in the Bradenton/Sarasota vicinity. In her 1958 one-page memoir, written in her own hand, she notes that when she first came to Sarasota at the age of 16, there were only two stores, no banks, and two doctors – with the nearest hospital located in Tampa.
Viola was a true pioneer of the lower Tampa Bay area and passed away in 1960, beloved by her 11 children, 29 grandchildren, and 34 great-grandchildren.
Annie Viola Walker was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011