Elizabeth Jameson Walsh's Obituary
Elizabeth Jameson Walsh was born in Panhandle, Texas, on October 23rd, 1913, to Lela Blackshear Jameson and Edwin Reece Jameson. The family moved to Amarillo when Elizabeth was a young girl, and she graduated from high school there. It was in Amarillo that her musical talent was observed, and a well-to-do family friend paid for piano lessons for Elizabeth. After high school, she attended Cottey College in Missouri for a year on a scholarship. Hearing her play in Amarillo, Paul van Katwijk, the dean of the school of music at SMU in Dallas, offered her a scholarship. She was a music student at SMU for several years and became a member of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women. She also studied piano at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago near the end of Al Capone’s notoriety there. Elizabeth returned to the Dallas area and earned Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano at North Texas State University in Denton (now the University of North Texas). In 1951 Elizabeth married Thomas Norris Walsh; they made their home in the Dallas suburb of University Park,where the family were long-time members of Northway Christian Church, from 1957 until 1989, when they moved to Farmers Branch. She taught music in the Dallas public schools at Crozier Tech High School in Dallas and later at Maple Lawn Elementary School; she taught piano at the Hockaday School in Dallas, as well as teaching numerous private piano students in her home, including the three Walsh children. She served as organist at Disciples of Christ, Episcopal, and United Methodist congregations and as pianist at Christ United Methodist Church in Farmers Branch until 2017. At various points in her life, Elizabeth sang in the Dallas Civic Chorus and in the Dallas Symphony Chorus and was a faithful and participating member of the Pro Musica and Musical Arts music clubs, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and other organizations.Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Blackshear Jameson, and by her husband Thomas Norris Walsh. She is survived by son Thomas Edwin Walsh and daughter-in-law Thidavone Walsh of Farmers Branch, TX; son Richard Malcolm Walsh and daughter-in-law Dee Newman Walsh of Grapevine, TX; daughter Lela Walsh LaBarbera and son-in-law Martin LaBarbera of St. Augustine, FL; granddaughter Laura Walsh Beard and grandson-in-law David Beard of Flower Mound, TX; granddaughter Julia Celia Elizabeth Walsh of Mansfield, TX; granddaughter Phatthaly Phoutthivongsack of Farmers Branch; granddaughter Lindsay Marie LaBarbera of St. Augustine, FL; grandson Robert Thomas Walsh of Irving, TX; grandson Richard Malcolm Dmitri Walsh and granddaughter-in-law Lyndsey Jones Walsh of Kansas City, KS; grandson Thiphavanh Phoutthivongsack of Addison; grandson Adam Joseph LaBarbera and grand-daughter-in-law Lori Helms LaBarbera of Houston, TX; grandson Jason Miles LaBarbera and grand-daughter-in-law Susan Shephard LaBarbera, of St. Augustine, FL; grandson Reece Thomas LaBarbera of St. Augustine, FL; great-grandson Steven Allen Beard of Flower Mound; and great-granddaughters Hannah, Samantha and Abby LaBarbera of St. Augustine, FL.A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, July 27th, 2018 at Christ United Methodist Church, 2807 Valwood Pkwy, Farmers Branch, TX 75234.In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Music Ministry of Christ United Methodist Church in Farmers Branch, TX or to any charitable organization.
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