Ettie Frances Walsh

Ettie Frances (Carter) Walsh, Beloved Wife, Mother, Sister and Friend was born August 9, 1922 in Carthage, Mississippi on the family farm. Preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, William ‘Bill’ Walsh, she is survived by sons, William Walsh III and Robert Walsh (Lisa), sister, Sammye Jackson, grandchildren Taylor Walsh (Kirsten), Justin Walsh (Jaime), Jeremy Walsh (Jessica) and Kelly Walsh, and great-grandchildren, Henley, William and Emerson. She graduated from East Central Junior College in Decatur, Mississippi and enlisted in the Navy as a WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in 1943. She was stationed in Washington, DC as a secretary in the Office of Naval Intelligence. There she met William Taylor ‘Bill’ Walsh, Jr., who was in the Army and worked in the Communication Center for the Chief of Staff of the U. S. Army during World War II. They shared a southern history as Bill was from Talladega, Alabama. After their discharges from the service, they moved to Mississippi to work their own farm and start a family. After a few years they moved to Florida when Bill took a job with the Florida Department of Agriculture. Other careers followed after the war and children, she was a substitute teacher at Orangewood Elementary, a secretary at a local plant nursery, Kelley’s Gardens and a volunteer at her church, Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church. She also led clubs and group discussions at Barkley Place where she lived the last few years of her life. She was very active in veteran activities and groups in Southwest Florida, including going on an Honor Flight to the nation’s capital when she was 95. She cared deeply about her family, friends and country. She never stopped learning new things and loved meeting new people. She was a good storyteller, an interesting public speaker and enjoyed daily phone calls from numerous friends and family around the country. She will be remembered for her quick wit, interesting stories and the twinkle in her eye when she told a joke. She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother, a loyal friend and she will certainly be missed. A memorial service will be held Wednesday, October 16, 2019, Visitation is at 3pm and Service will be at 4pm at Harvey Engelhardt Funeral Home, 1600 Colonial Blvd, Fort Myers, Florida. Subsequently, a private family interment will be held at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.

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