Helen R. Stafford Walsh 1925-2009

STAFFORD, WALSH, CUNNINGHAM, SCHARINE, HUNT, CHISM, SHAPLEY

Posted By: j.n. (email)
Date: 10/13/2009 at 18:49:51

Telegraph herald
Dubuque, Iowa
Friday Oct 9, 2009

Helen R. Walsh

Helen R. Walsh, 84, of Kenosha, Wis., formerly of Racine, Monroe and Dubuque, died peacefully Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009, at Brookside Care Center, Kenosha, from age-related causes, surrounded by her children and caregivers.

Friends may call from 4 to 6 p.m. today at Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home, 803 Main St., Racine. Friends also may call from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at St. Columbkille's Catholic Church, 1240 Rush St., Dubuque, followed by a funeral Mass, with the Rev. Gabriel Anderson officiating. Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Key West, Iowa.

She was born on July 22, 1925, in Dubuque, daughter of John L. and Nellie W. (Cunningham) Stafford. She and her sister, Mary Catherine, grew up on the "West Hill" in Dubuque, just a few blocks from St. Columbkille's, the neighborhood Catholic parish church and school. She graduated from St. Columbkille's High School in 1943 and the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in 1946.

She married James P. Walsh, of Dubuque, on April 26, 1948, at St. Columbkille's Parish Church; he preceded her in death on Dec. 5, 1995. Since 1989, Jim and Helen were parishioners at St. Sebastian's Catholic Parish in Sturtevant, Wis.

She was proud to be a registered nurse and worked for more than 40 years, specializing in geriatric nursing with a special interest in the developmentally challenged. During her career, she worked at several hospitals and nursing homes, including Brookside Care Center and Shady Lawn in Kenosha; Pleasant View Nursing Home and The Monroe Manor in Monroe; Grant County Hospital in Lancaster, Wis.; and Mercy Hospital in Dubuque.

Helen was immensely proud of her husband, family and especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, her Catholic faith, Irish heritage, the nursing profession, Dubuque, the state of Iowa and her wonderful friends and neighbors.

Surviving are her three children, David J. (Alice) Walsh, of Carmel, N.Y., Linda M. (James) Scharine, of Greenfield, Wis., and Patrick S. (Elizabeth) Walsh, of Eugene, Ore.; seven grandchildren, Elizabeth R. (Ryan) Hunt, of Anchorage, Alaska, James and John Walsh, both of Carmel; Gregory and Kathryn Scharine, of Greenfield, Wis., and Colleen and Shannon Walsh, both of Eugene; great-grandchildren, Abigail and Corrina Hunt, of Anchorage; a sister in-law, Mary Anne (John) Chism, of Raleigh, N.C.; and nieces, nephews, other relatives and many dear friends.

She also was preceded in death by her parents; a brother and sister in-law, William and Irene Stafford; a sister and brother in-law, Mary Catherine and Edmund Shapley; and two nephews, James Shapley and Keith Chism.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Apostolate to the Handicapped, Box 443, Monroe, WI 53566.

The family would like to give special thanks to the medical team and staff at Brookside Care Center who lovingly and tenderly took care of their mother as well as a host of friends and former colleagues who took time to visit her regularly.