Benard Kirk Walsh

Bernard Kirk Walsh died Monday, February 25, 2019 in Frederick, MD. He was 88.

Mr. Walsh was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 28, 1930. He was the son of Clune Joseph Walsh and Helen Kirk Walsh Wright. He is a 1954 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, Worster, MA, where he received a Bachelor of Arts. From 1955 to 1957, he served in the United States 3rd Armored Division with the 83rd Reconnaissance Battalion at Fort Knox and in Germany. It was there that he would meet his future wife, Beverly.

Upon leaving the military, Mr. Walsh spent a brief time at General Motors in public relations and as an account representative for 2 brokerage firms until 1962 when Kirk entered Shadow Brook, the Jesuit Seminary of the USA Northeast Province. He later received a Doctorate of Sacred Theology from Boston College in 1969. Upon ordination, he served in many places including Salvador Bahia, Brazil; Tufts University, and Gonzaga College High School.

In 1968, he came to Washington, DC to work as a special assistant to HUD Secretary George Romney and was instrumental in the peaceful implementation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. He then became an assistant to the president of Regis College in Denver, Colorado. He continued his work to provide fair and affordable housing when he was appointed as a founding member of the Colorado State Housing Finance Agency in 1974. In 1976, he established the National Assistance Corporation.

He is survived by his wife of 32 years, the Honorable Beverly B. Byron; her 3 children, Goodloe Edgar Byron, Jr.(Jane), Barton Kimball Byron (Hannah), and Mary Byron Kunst (Mark); his grandchildren, Mollie Byron Owens, Goodloe Byron III, Hank Byron, Philip Byron, Garrett Byron, Byron Kunst and Katherine Kunst; and one great grandchild, David Edward Owens, Jr.; his brother Clune J. Walsh, Jr. and sister Mariana W. Sterr, both of Grosse Pointe Michigan; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, March 9th at 11:30 AM at St. Ignatius of Loyola, 4103 Prices Distillery Rd, Ijamsville, MD 21754. The interment will be private. In lieu of flowers and in memory of Kirk, donations may be made to St. Ignatius of Loyola at the above address or to the Independent Hose Co #1, 310 Baughmans Lane, Frederick, MD 21701 Arrangements by the Keeney & Basford Funeral Home, Frederick; please visit Mr. Walsh's online memorial by going to www.keeneybasford.com