Mildred "Billie" Ryan Walsh died peacefully at home in Vero Beach, Florida, on May 10, 2011. Married for 60 years to Thomas L. Walsh, who predeceased her, she lived for over fifty years between Quogue, NY and Palm Beach, FL.
She is survived by her daughters, Barbara Freehill and Constance Walsh, daughter-in-law Barbara Kutz Walsh, son-in-law George B. Freehill, eleven granddaughters, two grandsons, and twenty-one great grandchildren. Her son, Thomas A. Walsh, passed away in 2009 from ALS.
Known as Billie by her friends and as Gracie by her grandchildren, she was born in Manhattan, raised her family in Riverdale, and had deep New York roots, adding to the city's cultural landscape and history as a founding partner of Jimmy Ryan's 52nd Street, a jazz club on New York's venerable Swing Street in the 1940s and 50s. She is a co-founder, former board member and long time supporter of Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York. A survivor, a mother and a devoted grandmother, she was loved by all whose lives she touched and will be greatly missed.
A memorial mass will be held at a time to be determined at Immaculate Conception Church in Westhampton Beach, NY. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to either Little Flower Children and Family Services (www.littleflowerny.org) or Compassionate Care ALS (www.ccals.org).
Arrangements are under the direction Cox-Gifford-Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory, Vero Beach, FL. Condolences may be sent to www.coxgiffordseawinds.com.