Back Where She Belongs:
Debbie Walker Comes Home 

FACES OF THE CRYSTAL COAST: DEBBIE WALKER

After decades away, Debbie Walker has returned to the Newport community that shaped her childhood. Now she is giving back through her work with Cape Lookout National Seashore, helping protect its wild horses, wildlife and treasured history while living the homecoming she always dreamed about. 

By Coastal 55+

The Pull of Home

After marrying her husband, Will, the couple made their home in his hometown of Iuka, Mississippi, in 1981. Debbie describes Iuka as a laid-back Southern town surrounded by beautiful state parks and Pickwick Lake, and a wonderful place to raise a family.

There was just one thing missing.

“There is not one grain of salt or sand near our home there,” Debbie shared.

Although Mississippi became home to their family, Debbie never stopped dreaming of returning to Carteret County.

After retiring as an elementary school principal in 2015, she began making more frequent trips back to the Crystal Coast. With every visit, the pull toward home became stronger.

“The more trips I made back home, the more homesick I got,” she said.

In 2017, Debbie and Will purchased a park home on Bogue Sound. Then, in 2024, they bought a home in Newport just four doors down from Debbie’s childhood home. Today, the couple is in the process of making the transition from Mississippi to living full time in Newport.

Debbie is not simply returning to the place where she grew up. She is finding meaningful ways to help protect it.

A Passion for Cape Lookout 

Volunteering with Cape Lookout National Seashore has become one of Debbie’s greatest passions.

Her experience began with Pony Patrol, a team of volunteers who educate visitors about the importance of protecting the wild horses of Shackleford Banks from human interference. The National Park Service and the Foundation for Shackleford Horses work together to manage the herd, and Debbie considers it an honor to be part of the effort.

Her love for Pony Patrol soon opened the door to many other volunteer opportunities.

Debbie has assisted with educational programs about the horses, helped collect census data, participated in Horse Sense tours, completed activity studies and helped collect DNA samples. She has also served as a docent at the Cape Lookout Lighthouse keeper’s quarters and as a cabin host at the Great Island Cabins.

Most recently, Debbie accompanied a biological science technician to North Core Banks to help check turtle and bird nests. During the assignment, she helped excavate a green sea turtle nest that had already hatched. She also visited a black skimmer colony of approximately 800 birds and observed royal terns. Their work took them from the northern tip of South Core Banks to Portsmouth Village.

For Debbie, the experience was pure joy.

When the National Park Service volunteer coordinator asks, “Hey Deb, do you want to help with...?” Debbie is usually ready to go.

She is also quick to recognize the people serving beside her. Debbie says she feels deeply privileged to volunteer with the committed staff and fellow volunteers of Cape Lookout National Seashore. Their knowledge, dedication and shared respect for this special place continually inspire her.

Where History and Conservation Meet 

Every assignment deepens Debbie’s appreciation for the history, wildlife and conservation efforts of Cape Lookout National Seashore.

When she accompanies the wildlife biologist who manages the Shackleford Banks herd and listens to her explain the horses’ behavior and environment, Debbie says she feels as though she has stepped into a National Geographic documentary.

While observing horses near the site where the village of Diamond City once stood, she can almost picture the whalers, fishermen and families who once lived and worked there.

“I feel like I’m walking back in time,” she said.

Some of her most meaningful experiences involve children. Helping young visitors earn their Junior Ranger badges is one of her favorite assignments, and she admits that she often becomes teary-eyed while helping them recite the Junior Ranger pledge.

Whether she is walking trails and shorelines, talking with visitors about the horses, welcoming guests at the lighthouse or serving at Great Island, Debbie is surrounded by people who share her appreciation for the history, plants and wildlife protected by the National Park Service.

The kindness and gratitude expressed during those conversations remind her why the work matters.

Sharing the Place She Loves 

Debbie’s love for the Crystal Coast could not be stronger.

Since returning, she has been especially moved by the dedication of local residents who work to preserve the area’s heritage, natural habitats and fishing traditions. She understands the importance of tourism to Carteret County, but she also sees the care being taken to maintain the beauty and character of the coast for those who live here and those who come to experience it.

Debbie also works part time at the Inlet Inn in Beaufort, where she welcomes guests from across the country and around the world.

Each visitor gives her another opportunity to share the beauty, history and hospitality of the place she is once again proud to call home.

Family, Friendship and a Dream Fulfilled 

No story about Debbie would be complete without her family.

She and Will have been married for 47 years. They have two children, Jesse and Caroline, and two grandchildren, Paige and Beckett.

Paige, 16, and Beckett, 13, love visiting their Pop and Nana on the Crystal Coast and following Nana on her adventures around Cape Lookout National Seashore. Paige is even completing a school internship with a park ranger through her school system in Caldwell County.

Debbie is also grateful for her close network of friends on the Crystal Coast. Three of those friendships began during childhood and have lasted through the years. Today, they enjoy kayaking together and exploring as many of the area’s waterways as they can.

After decades away, Debbie is once again surrounded by the water, wildlife, history, family and friendships she treasures.

“I could not be more pleased to be back living my dream at my childhood home sweet home,” she said.

For Debbie Walker, coming home has also created an opportunity to give back. Through every horse she helps protect, every child she encourages, every visitor she welcomes and every shoreline she helps preserve, she is helping care for the Crystal Coast that has always held her heart.

Debbie would now like to pass the Faces of the Crystal Coast nomination forward to her friend Cindy Kaye Smith, a local wildlife conservationist.