6410 South Dante Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637
Phone: 773-324-1020 Fax: 773-359-0506
Bob "Waldo" Walsh '69 Memorial Scholarship
Bob came to Mount Carmel from St. Ethelreda grade school in Chicago. Bob embraced the camaraderie and brotherhood that makes Mount Carmel different from any other Catholic school in Chicago. This brotherhood would mark the way Bob lived his entire life.
After graduating from Mount Carmel, Bob enrolled in college, for exactly one day. Realizing school wasn’t his path, Bob then joined the National Guard. He got a job as a part-time runner, and office worker for the White Corporation at the Board of Trade, and in 1974 took a full-time position, where he was one of the first traders to open the (CBOE) Options Exchange. He spent more than 40 years at the Board and served on several membership committees. Bob also looked out for Mount Carmel graduates looking to break into the trading business. He hired and mentored countless MC guys through the years.
Bob and his wife, Maureen raised their family in Evergreen Park and their children all attended St. Bernadette. Bob coached football at St. Bernadette. His son Matt claims he wasn’t very good at it, but he certainly left an impression on his players as nine of them took the entrance exam at Mount Carmel. When his son Robert entered Mount Carmel in the fall of 1988, Bob quickly established himself as the go to person to get things done in the Fathers’ Club. Bob was the longest serving Fathers’ Club President. He was instrumental in getting new sod installed on the practice football field, brought in non MC guys from the Board of Trade and turned them into donors, started and ran the Fathers’ Club Smoker and was a great financial supporter to Coach Lenti’s football program and Coach Weick’s wrestling program.
Bob and Maureen had a soft spot for the young men who came to Mount Carmel, especially the less fortunate. Bob could quickly identify a young man who struggled and didn’t have a lot of family support. He made sure those kids had enough money to eat lunch, made sure they had rides to and from school, often invited them to have dinner with the Walsh Family, and tried to make their lives a little better. Bob truly was a Man of Carmel.
In addition to Robert and Matt, Bob and Maureen’s son Brian also attended Mount Carmel and their daughter Laurie was a fixture at 6410 S. Dante. Their grandson Jack is a current junior at Mount Carmel. Sadly, Bob passed away in 2014 and his ashes are spread on the Mount Carmel campus. His legacy and impact are felt every day.
