Michael P. Walsh

Walsh, Michael P., of Brighton, passed away on November 6, 2023 from Dementia. Born August 12, 1947, Mike was the son of the late William J. and Mary T. Walsh. He is survived by his loving wife Doris Howe Walsh of Brighton; his sister Anne DeCourcey and her husband Joseph of Belmont; his brother David and his wife Mary Lou of Auburndale and his sister-in-law Nancy Howe Puglia and her husband Dennis of Norton. His brothers William and Robert Walsh predeceased him. He is also survived by nieces and nephews Ellen and Robert Mangano of Natick; Stephen and Mary DeCourcey of Arlington; Nicholas and Lisa Walsh of Peabody; William and Alyssa Walsh of Plymouth; Rebecca and Byron Bradley of Waltham and Christopher and Alyssa Walsh of Boston. Also survived by his loving grand nieces and nephews and cousins here and in Ireland from the Walsh and Byrne clans as well as the family of Doris’s from the Sullivan clan.

Mike grew up in Arlington Mass and excelled academically and in sports. His sixth-grade teacher said he was her brightest student. He was a lefthanded pitcher in baseball whose dream was to be a major league player. During his senior year of high school, the local paper described Mike as a “nifty lefthander” following a game in which he struck out 18 batters. Many scouts took an interest in him but sadly he injured his pitching shoulder, and the baseball career was not to be. He graduated from Arlington High in 1965 and was fortunate to get a football scholarship to Northeastern University where he majored in Economics. He was a member of the fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa where the initiation for pledges meant a trip to New York city to have breakfast at Tiffany’s. Mike and the other pledges persuaded the Tiffany’s doorman to let them in the famed store and, with coffee cups in hand they took a photo to document the effort. Mike was a big fan of the co-op system at Northeastern University having benefitted from it by being able to work for various Boston companies. One of his co-op jobs was working for Dave Powers, aid to President Kennedy and the first Curator of the Kennedy Presidential Library. After an accidental meeting with Mike at the Waltham building that housed the memorabilia from President Kennedy’s time in office, Mr. Powers was so impressed with Mike, he hired him away from his co-op job at the IRS. Working for Mr. Powers was an unforgettable experience that included several instances where Mike met luminaries associated with President Kennedy. Upon graduation from Northeastern University in 1970, Mike landed a job as a stockbroker for Hornblower, Weeks in Boston. When the recession hit several years later and the stock market plunged, Mike went back to college to obtain his MBA. The recession did not dampen Mike’s interest in the market. He continued to follow the market and invested wisely. While studying for his MBA degree he was a top real estate broker for Eastman Properties, a four season golf and lake community in New Hampshire.

Upon completing his MBA, he was hired by Fairchild Publishing as a salesperson for their trade publication division which published magazines focusing on the burgeoning high-tech industry. Mike was the top salesperson for the trade publication MIS Week. He was later recruited by Sentry Publishing as publisher for Software Magazine and Client Server Computing. From there he worked at McGraw Hill’s Byte Magazine. Mike loved working in the publishing industry but as technology advanced, the popularity of trade publications ceased to exist as readers obtained their information online. Undaunted Mike started a new job in a different field working for Employee Communications Services and later at MarketOne Communications until his retirement in 2016. His team conducted research for various hedge fund companies enabling them to assess trends in the marketplace which aided in their investment decisions. Mike maintained close relationships with his childhood, high school, college, business friends and golf buddies at the Framingham Country Club where he was a member since 1983. He enjoyed being a resident of Langley Road in Brighton and formed a close bond with many of his neighbors. He made friends easily and had many fans who will remember him as being warm, charming, upbeat, and enthusiastic. He would want you to honor his memory by doing the things he cannot do. Live, love, laugh.

Funeral will be held Friday November 17, visitation at 10AM followed by the service at 11AM at the United Parish of Auburndale, 64 Hancock Street, Newton, MA. Reception to follow at Brae Burn Country Club, 326 Fuller St., West Newton.
Donations in his memory can be made to the Arlington Boys and Girls Club 60 Pond Lane, Arlington, MA 02474. https://www.abgclub.org/. Arrangements by Lehman Reen and McNamara, Brighton. www.lehmanreen.com

To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Michael P. Walsh, please visit our Tree Store.