I could write a novel but I'll save that for another time! For now I'll
merely recite the Obituary from the West Seattle Herald dated November 9,
1994:

William James Walsh of Lake Wilderness died Oct. 24 at the Franciscan
Nursing Home in Enumclaw. All of his 15 children and his wife were at
his bedside on the day of his death.
Walsh was born and raised in West Seattle. He retired from the Seattle
Police Department in 1963 after having served as administrative head of
each department division. The same year he was appointed Chief of the
Criminal Division of the King County Sheriff's Office, where he served
until 1971.

He was a member of many philanthropic organizations, serving as an
officer at various times in most of them.
He is survived by his wife, Gerta J. Walsh;(her children by a previous
marriage Patricia Ann Berg, Peggy Ann Smothers, Colleen Ann Meredith and
John Lawrence O'Neil - OMITTED FROM ABOVE ARTICLE) and children Eileen
Booriak, Kathleen Pearisaeff, Patricia Walsh, Mary Atkinson, James Walsh,
Anne Koenen, Richard Walsh, Peggy Middlebrook, Ellen Walsh, Colleen Hale,
Danial Walsh, Erin Butcher, Brigid Litras, Noreen Peters and Tim Walsh;
along with many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his first wife, Geraldine E. McCarthy Walsh,
the mother of his 15 children.

Mass of Christian Burial was held Oct. 28 at Holy Rosary Catholic church
in West Seattle, celebrated by his nephew, Father Michael Ryan, pastor of
St. James Cathedral; Father Jeffery Sarkies, pastor of Holy Rosary
parish; and Father Jerry McClosky, pastor of St. Paul's parish. Interment
was in Holyrood Cemetary. (END OF ARTICLE)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Upon his death Dad left a Joint Will naming his daughter Patricia Walsh
as Executor and leaving the whole of his estate to his widow Gerta Walsh
and stating that should she precede him in death the estate was to be
shared in equal measure by his fifteen children and two of her children
Colleen and John in that the other two children of Gerta had been amply
provided for by their fathers will previously. Gerta likewise had a Joint
Will indicating the same; leaving the whole of her
estate to Dad however should he precede her the estate was to be shared
in equal measure by the above mentioned children!

As fate would have it Dad passed away October 24, 1994 preceding Gerta!
Gerta passed away some ten weeks later January 15, 1995, alone, of
pneumonia and congestive heart failure in Valley General Hospital,
Renton, Washington.

And here the Story begins!

As Patricia began to execute her duties as Executor of Dads estate she
soon learned that sometime in November of 1994 Gerta and her daughter
Colleen had visited the family attorney and had a New Will drawn up ( The
attorney states in an affidavit that he told both Gerta as well as
Colleen that the New Will would only affect her estate and in no way
revoked the Joint Will I spoke of earlier!) Now this New Will - we'll
call it the 1994 Will - leaves everything in Gerta's estate to two of her
children, Colleen Merridith and John O'Neill! You see apparently
sometime in 1989, before the Joint Will was drawn up by Dad and Gertra,
Gerta and her other two children had a falling out. The falling out was
over a will her first husband left when he died leaving his estate to the
older two children and nothing to the two younger! Gerta wanted the
older two to share with the younger but they, the older, were compelled
by the will and could not! Gerta never spoke to them from that day on and
indeed they were not even told of their mothers death except thru an
uncle the night before the funeral - they did not attend!

It appears now that the 1989 Joint Will was drawn up to accomodate the
younger two children of Gerta while maintaining accommodations for all of
Dads fifteen children!

But the plot thickens!

Dad's estate was estimated by the attorney to be somewhere in the
$600,000 neighborhood with 1/2
comprised in Stocks and Bonds and the rest in Bank Accounts and Land,
House etc.

Around December 10, 1994, Gerta opened a joint bank account between
herself and her daughter Colleen. Also around that date she Gerta
directed the family Stock Broker to sell approximately $100,000 worth of
the Stocks. The proceeds were put into the Joint account and as of the
end of
January 1995 had disappeared!

Also around the 18th of January 1995, John O'Neill called the family
attorney and asked when he and his sister could get the $600,000! In the
same conversation he asked whether Patricia Walsh could sue? (Ahh, no
good deed will go unpunished nor ill unrewarded)

So - I leave you now this 7th day of may 1995! I'm sure you are as
interested in the final outcome as I!

Yes the Walsh children have solicited the services of an attorney of
their own and I'll fill you in on all the gruesome details as they are
played out!