OBITUARY FOR REVEREND CANON TERENCE WALSH 1922-2014
The Reverend Canon Terence Kevin Ambrose Walsh died peacefully on 21 March at the Marie Louise Nursing Home in Romsey to which he had been admitted in February following a year long struggle against a debilitating illness.
Canon Terry, as he was affectionately known, was born and educated in Portsmouth until at an early age he decided to follow his vocation to become a Catholic priest. This entailed a period of study at the Gregorian College for English candidates for the priesthood in Rome which Canon Terry greatly appreciated. Following his ordination in 1944 he devoted the whole of his life-long priestly ministry to working in the Diocese of Portsmouth with a series of appointments in various Hampshire parishes.
In 1973 his work for the Church took another turn when he joined the staff of the Theology Department at La Sainte Union College of Higher Education in Southampton. He was rapidly promoted to the post of Head of Department, a position he filled very successfully and held until his retirement from academic work in 1987.
As well as his academic responsibilities Canon Terry was involved in the work of the Catholic Marriage Tribunal for which he was very well suited as a trained Canon Lawyer but to which he devoted a great deal of pastoral care and sensitivity when dealing with cases of marriage annulment. In addition he was committed to the pastoral care of Separated and Divorced Catholics, supported Women’s Ordination and was Chair of the Association for Married Priests in the Catholic Church.
During this time Canon Terry was also very active as an assistant priest in the parish of St Boniface in Shirley where he lived throughout the 40 years he spent in Southampton. He regularly took his share of responsibility for celebrating the liturgy and the sacraments and was particularly appreciated for the quality of his preaching. He applied his extensive theological knowledge to his sermons but with a lightness of touch, a clarity of exposition and a fluency of delivery which made them immediately accessible to the person in the pew.
Although he had generally enjoyed remarkably good health Canon Terry inevitably had to contend with the various health problems which came with advancing age. Nevertheless he faced these with great courage and determination and, despite several weeks of hospitalisation in the Southampton General and nursing care at Marie Louise Home in the early part of 2013, he managed to return to his house in Shirley for most of the final year of his life and, with the support of friends and parishioners, he continued to cope with living alone and enjoyed the opportunity to spend a little more time in his garden. He was no longer able to engage in the social contacts, cultural activities and foreign travel which he had always greatly relished but he remained resolute to the end before finally recognising his need for the residential care available at the Marie Louise Home where his long life came to an end less than two months before his ninety second birthday.