Lillian Joan Walsh

October 4, 1951 - October 25, 2017

Lillian Joan Walsh, 66, formerly of Ottawa Hills, passed away at the Cleveland Clinic after an 11 month courageous battle with acute myeloid leukemia. She underwent 2 bone marrow transplants and had numerous complications. She was born in Newark, New Jersey to Lillian Cecile and James P Black and grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey. She received her Bachelor of Science, Cum Laude, from Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania and a Masters of Science from St John's University, New York, New York. She commenced her career in the clinical laboratory sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York. Lillian became the Manager, Clinical Chemistry at MetPath (Quest Diagnostics), Teterboro, New Jersey then Vice President of Laboratory Operations, Differential Diagnostics, Bloomfield, New Jersey. Lillian and her family moved to Sylvania, Ohio in 1988. She became active in St Joseph Parish School serving as President of the PTA. In 2002, the family moved to Brookside Rd in Ottawa Hills. Her role in the greater Toledo community expanded. She served multiple terms on the Board and as President of the Junior League of Toledo and The Toledo Hospital Auxiliary and as a member of the Board of the Toledo Zoo. She was appointed by Governor George Voinovich to a 9 year term on the Board of the Medical College of Ohio and served as its Chairperson. Lillian was a member of the President's Advisory Council of Villanova University and was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Medal from their College of Arts & Sciences. She graduated from Leadership Ohio and received the Philanthropist of the Year Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Her children were the center of her life. Family events and trips were always fun filled and memorable, especially Thanksgiving. She was actively engaged in their many activities and enjoyed horseback riding, boating, traveling, Villanova basketball, Notre Dame and Detroit Lions football, the Toledo Mud Hens and the family vacation home at Bay Harbor, Michigan. She and her husband were members of Inverness Club, The Toledo Club, Bay Harbor Yacht Club and the Catawba Island Club. Lillian was a lifetime member of the Junior League and the Toledo Hospital Auxiliary. She was preceded in death by her parents and older brother, James P. Black, Jr. Lillian is survived by her husband, F. Michael Walsh, MD (Palm Beach Gardens, FL and Toledo, OH) and her 5 children: Brian (Pacific Grove, CA), Joseph (Santa Fe, NM), Kevin (Tempe, AZ), Timothy (Toledo, OH), and Marissa (Cheltenham, PA) along with 5 grandchildren and her younger brother, Kevin P. Black MD (Hershey, PA). Friends may visit at the Coyle Funeral Home, 1770 S. Reynolds Rd, Toledo OH 43614 on Tuesday, November 21st from 1-8 p.m. A Funeral Mass of the Resurrection will be held on Wednesday, November 22nd at Corpus Christi University Parish, 2955 Dorr St., Toledo, OH 43607, at 10:30 a.m. The burial will be private at Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington, NJ. The family wishes to express its sincere thanks to the staff of the Leukemia and Bone Marrow Transplant Units of the Cleveland Clinic for their excellent and compassionate care. Contributions may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice. Please view and sign our online “guest registry” at CoyleFuneralHome.com