Remembering Dick Walsh

On Friday, I attended a funeral mass yesterday that celebrated the life of Dick Walsh (pictured at right), who passed away July 31. Dick was a remarkable man who crusaded tirelessly for the rights of the unborn and, in his later years, to preserve real marriage against the revolutionary homosexual redefinition. He was also a faithful husband, a loving dad and grandfather, a committed Catholic, and a very successful businessman.

Dick was a “big picture” guy who knew what we were up against in Illinois — but he was neither intimidated nor discouraged by the Left. Rather, he fought with tenacity, courage and creativity — once erecting a pro-life billboard on top of a skyscraper in the heart of downtown Chicago — that quoted Mother Teresa:

“[I]f we accept that the mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another.”

I got to know Dick when he was in his 70s, but he still had more guts and energy than most men a third of his age. We worked together on “Defend Marriage Illinois.” A few years earlier, Dick created the “Walsh Forum” radio show in a valiant attempt to bring a fair discussion of conservative issues to Illinois’ citizens — who have been dumped on for decades by a biased and corrupt media. Dick spent a ton of his own money on the project but could not sustain it. But at least he tried, compared to the apathy and resignation of lesser men.

Dick was a can-do cultural warrior of the sort we could use more of if we are ever to restore America to her former greatness. His life was a rebuke to the cynicism that grips this state and, increasingly, this nation, which he loved as a patriot. I will miss him.

Peter LaBarbera

Americans for Truth About Homosexuality

americansfortruth@gmail.com