Richard (Rick/Fuji/Rich) James Walsh of Weymouth (formerly Braintree) passed away on August 19, 2017 at the age of 58 after a courageous battle with a long illness. Rich is predeceased by his parents, George Joseph, Sr. and Rosalie Claire (Rooney) Walsh of Braintree and his mother-in-law, Rachel (Evangelista) Dalton of Weymouth. Rich is survived by his loving wife of 29 years Dianne (Dalton), his beloved sons Gary Joseph of Pembroke and Thomas Eric of Randolph (formerly Quincy), and was the proud Grandpa of Colin James who “loves him very much”.
One of eight children, Rich is lovingly remembered by his siblings: Kathy Prario and her husband Kevin of Duxbury, George Walsh, Jr. and his wife Nancy of Marshfield, Donna Elsaesser and her husband Jay of Abington, John Walsh and his wife Maryellen of Braintree, Karen Walsh of Rockland, Kevin Walsh of Missouri, and Patti Paccia and her husband David of Bridgewater. He is also survived by his in-laws Edward Dalton and his wife Linda of Plymouth, Maureen Fagan and her husband Larry of Weymouth and Michelle Dalton of Plymouth. He will be sorely missed by his 13 nieces and nephews, 2 great nephews and 1 great niece.
Rich was born in Dorchester, MA in 1958. He graduated from Braintree High School in 1976 and worked in retail for many years. Rich always enjoyed working with the hand tools he inherited from his father and had a particular passion for woodworking projects including intarsia and refurbishing furniture. He loved dreaming up new projects to create for the craft fairs he and Dianne did together. He even showcased his items on his Facebook page www.facebook.com/richrescues. His other well-known obsessions were enjoying a Lynwood’s hamburg pizza, collecting model classic cars, completing puzzles with his grandson and surfing Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook.
The burial will be private. Family and friends are asked to join the family for a celebration of Rich’s life at The Tirrell Room, 254 Quarry Street in Quincy on Friday, August 25th between 6-10 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in Rich’s honor may be made to: Elite Football Academy Scholarship Program (founded by Rich’s two sons) www.elitefootballacademy.com or The Eliot School (woodworking classes for all ages) www.eliotschool.org.