Isabelle E. Walsh

Isabelle Walsh (née Isabelle Roser) was born on December 15, 1915, in Potosi, Wisconsin. She was raised on a farm that did not have indoor plumbing. She married Cliff Walsh in 1937. Cliff and Isabelle ran a country store in Tennyson, Wisconsin and they lived on top of that store. Between 1939 and 1957, Isabelle gave birth to eight children, the first of whom died at the age of six months. In 1957, while pregnant with her youngest children (twins), her home and store burned to the ground. After the fire, Isabelle and her family moved to Dubuque, Iowa. She and Cliff opened a self-service department store. Isabelle worked full-time in the store and raised her seven children. Isabelle retired when she was about 70 years old.

Isabelle does not have any special academic credentials (although she earned excellent grades in high school), nor does she have any special business honors or awards. She is special and is being honored here because she works extremely hard, she has a strong (but quiet and never showy) belief in God, and she has a wonderful and mischievous sense of humor.

Until July of this year, Isabelle lived alone, still scrubbing her own floors. But, on July 15, 2009, she suffered a stroke and is now facing the challenges of recovery. She is not able to say more than a few words and her right side is paralyzed. She is approaching her therapy with typical hard work and determination. She is now 93 and her strength continues to inspire me.

Honoring Acknowledgement: Her daughter