by Kristian | Jul 30, 2013 | Adult Life, College (James Madison University)
It amazes me how tying my 4-year old son Dylan’s shoes brings back a flood of memories of Brian. Brian was Dylan’s Godfather and they both wore Adidas Samba soccer shoes. There was always a cute exchange between the two of them whenever they saw each other to see if they were both wearing their Sambas. Whether they were or not, Brian could always engage an enlightened conversation with our inquisitive little boy. I met Brian almost 30-years ago at JMU when Brian Gracie and I pledged the fraternity that Walsh joined the year before as a freshman. Amongst other things that were required during pledging, we had to memorize a handful of Latin phrases one of which translates to Nothing Shall Ever Tear Us Asunder. The Latin translation is something that our circle of friends would repeat to one another on occasion out of jest. However, when I heard the news of Brian’s passing I could not get that phrase out of my head and still find myself repeating it when I think of Brian. It is no surprise to me that Walsh remained one of my closest friends and confidants since our time together at JMU. He was one of, if not the only person that I could comfortably talk to about anything whether personal, financial or professional. As we all move on to other chapters of our lives, marriage, kids, etc. most people tend to socialize more with parents of kids that interact with their own kids. Lauryn and I were fortunate enough that our oldest son Tucker is the same age as Sean and the...
by Julie Criswell | Jul 12, 2013 | Adult Life, Stories
For many years, Walsh, Brian Gracie, Joe Barger and I sat together for the Raven’s games. We would get together before each season for a ticket swap ,trying to trade games that we knew we couldn’t attend, and get a couple of seats in exchange. As you can imagine, this was a less than scientific undertaking. We were usually more confused afterward as to who had which tickets than we were before we got together. One Sunday, I called Walsh at 8:30 in the morning to find out if he was going to the game and to see if he wanted to drive down together. He answered the phone and told me that he was not attending, but thought that Joe had the ticket. Several phone calls later, after determining that Joe was out of town, Walsh told me that he thought the ticket was in Joe’s office drawer. Walsh took it upon himself to contact the Office Manager at Joe’s office and ask if she could meet me there that morning on short notice and get me into Joe’s office, so that the ticket would not go unused. She was happy to help out, and when I met her a little later, I realized that Brian had orchestrated this entire effort from his In-laws home in Arizona. He had picked up the phone at 5:30 am to take my call and had continued to call back East until the ticket had a home. He never once mentioned what his situation was; he just wanted to help out. This is just one of the many stories that I could...
by Julie Criswell | Jul 12, 2013 | Adult Life, Stories
The day before Brian passed away, he was in my office in his hot pink sweatshirt that I hated. Only Brian could get away with wearing that color pink and oh, how I wish I could see him in that shirt again. He asked me to mediate in a slight argument he was having with Wendi, his assistant. Brian was asked to do a favor for someone who had asked for many favors before. Brian was going to do the favor, which would cost Brian some money. Wendi wanted Brian to say no. She was “taking care of Brian”. She thought that the person asking for the favor was taking advantage of Brian’s good nature. Brian was explaining to me and to Wendi, that it was important to look at the big picture. He told us that in the scheme of things this small sum of money would mean little to him. However, it would mean a great deal to the person who needed the favor. Brian told us to look forward to the evening meal in that person’s home. How different the meal and the evening would be if he was able to tell his wife that he could do the thing requested or how miserable the meal and the evening would be if he had to tell his wife that he could not get the amount of money they needed. He easily convinced us that this one small favor could change a family’s outlook, certainly for the evening and hopefully, for longer than that. Brian was not just generous with his pocketbook and with his time, but...
by Julie Criswell | Jul 12, 2013 | Adult Life, Stories
Just a few short months ago Brian Walsh died of an embolism. His death, while rather quick and sudden, leaves a long and dramatic void in my world, but also in the world that we financial service providers live in. Who was Brian Walsh you may ask? Well first and foremost he was one of the finest, most decent people God ever put on this earth. All those that knew him would echo my sentiments. But for those of you who live in the financial services world, who derive a living and are building a career in it, you owe this man a huge debt of gratitude. I’m here to tell you why, and hope, I mean hope, those that knew him will remember his great deeds, and those that didn’t, understand and appreciate the legacy he blazed to make this industry a better place for you and future representatives. Brian started in this business about 23 years ago, when I hired him to be a part of The Morgan Financial Group. Upon first meeting him, I knew he’d be successful. He was engaging, smart, witty, energized but most importantly the kind of guy you didn’t just like being around………………………you loved being around! Early on as I held leadership positions as well as chair positions in our local organization, I enlisted Brian to “step up” and get involved. In the ever changing world we were living in, volunteerism was so passé, it was hard to find good leaders. I needed to look no further. Besides stepping into all the committee work…….. program chair, membership chair, IFAPAC chair, Sales Congress...
by Kristian | May 17, 2013 | Adult Life
The Timeout, or lack thereof. I had the pleasure of coaching basketball with Brian, but more special was when Brian coached my boys and I sat on the sidelines cheering, not coaching. While I have enjoyed coaching my kids in many sports, there is a great joy in sitting back and watching them compete and enjoying their play as a fan. I have never been one to be one of those parents who coach from the sidelines or bench, there are plenty of those, but just once I wish I were! In the CMRC rec league in 2010, my boys Colin and Grayson played on a team coached by Brian. Inspired by John Wooden, the UCLA Bruins had a .500 or so season, but then the team went on a Ravens playoff-type run. In typical Coach Walsh fashion the team, parents, grandparents, and anyone lucky enough to be on the email string received a game analysis after the semi-final game, which read, in part: 3-9-2010 – Congratulations UCLA! With your fantastic play on Saturday, we will Go for the Gold tomorrow night at 6pm on the Full Court at St James to take on the #1 Seed Stanford Cardinal for the CMRC Championship. I speak for Coach Ed and Coach Patrick that we were so proud of your effort on Saturday. Having to play back to back games against two very good teams was a tremendous challenge and you rose to the occasion. Game 1 started without our valuable point guard, Luke Levendusky, who was scheduled to make it to the game by halftime. Our Bruins knew they would...
by Kristian | May 17, 2013 | Adult Life
My husband, Al, was a casual colleague of Brian’s through their mutual work with Lincoln Financial Advisors. I only had the pleasure of meeting Brian once, but I will always remember the significance of that encounter. Our son, Jared, was two weeks from graduation from James Madison University when he was killed in a car accident in 2002. As is happening now, many caring friends came together to hold a golf tournament in Jared’s honor. Brian, being a staunch JMU alum and the liaison for the Baltimore area, heard of the tournament and immediately contacted Al to lend his support. On the day of the tournament, I saw some guy approaching the registration table carrying a HUGE box – it was Brian! He had contacted JMU and gotten many, many JMU products, from jackets to tee shirts to engraved beer glasses, which we could add to the raffle table. Everything he brought was a hit with the golfers! As parents, you never want your child to be forgotten. I will never forget how much it meant to us that JMU would care enough about Jared and his memory to contribute so generously to the tournament. Obviously, this occurred because Brian cared about a grieving family and wanted to do something to ease their burden. How gratifying it was to us then, and again now, to be able to share this story with his family and friends. Story submitted by Betsy...
