Douglas Edward Walsh

April 22, 2015 Last Updated: April 22, 2015 12:01 PM Death Notice

At 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, Western Pennsylvania lost a legendary furniture and mattress salesman, a loving father and grandfather and the greatest bigfoot enthusiast of the modern era, Douglas Edward Walsh.

Doug, the great-grandson of Irish famine refugees, found healing, love and laughter in Lois, his life partner of 53 years.

Doug spent decades driving through the narrow hollers of Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, selling furniture and mattresses to mom and pop stores, working on commission to raise his seven children and send them all to college. He was a man of traditional business practices, refusing to use e-mail, the Internet or any form of social media to conduct his business. For Doug, business was only done face-to-face, through relationships and mutual trust.

Doug held tightly to his deep Catholic faith, praying the rosary to the Blessed Mother every day.

To his 12 grandchildren, Doug was Papa, a fun-loving guy who loved to watch television programs about bigfoot and UFOs. He knew Western Pennsylvania roads, family restaurants, roadside farmers' stands, classic 50s movies, high school football and wrestling talent, his '07 and '08 vans, and the daily Post-Gazette, as well as anyone in the Pittsburgh region.

Doug will be deeply missed. He set an example for all of us about the dignity of daily struggle and the importance of a loving and supportive family. We stand on his shoulders.

Doug leaves behind to cherish his memory, his beloved wife of 52 years, Lois Schnur Walsh, who he married on Dec. 29, 1962; his seven children, Douglas R. Walsh and his fiancee, Rebecca Whitaker, of Olympia, Wash., Gregory J. Walsh and his wife, Tina, of Fairfax, Pa., James P. Walsh and his wife, Gabriela, of Denver, Colo., Laura L. Menelaws and her husband, Lem, of East Hampton, N.Y., Timothy F. Walsh and his wife, Monica Torres, of West Lafayette, Ind., Mary B. Walsh and her husband, Matthew Weiss, of Boston, Mass., and Matthew E. Walsh of Cranberry Township; his 12 grandchildren, Hannah, Evan and Callum Menelaws, Allison, Rachel, Patrick, and William Walsh, Liliana Flora-Walsh, Marisol and John Paul Walsh, Bryan Calderon, and Claire Weiss; his brother, James Walsh of Butler, and his many nieces and nephews.

Walsh — The Walsh family will receive friends of Douglas Edward Walsh, who passed away Wednesday, March 18, 2015, from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at theGlenn-Kildoo Funeral Home, 130 Wisconsin Ave., Cranberry Township.A Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the St. Ferdinand Catholic Church, 2535 Rochester Road, Cranberry Township, with the Fr. John Gallagher, celebrant. Doug will be laid to rest at St. Mary's Cemetery in Herman.Expressions of sympathy may be shared with Doug's family at www.glennkildoofuneralhome.com.