Joanne (Kosmo) Walsh

Joanne (Kosmo) Walsh, formerly of Holbrook, died peacefully on Tuesday, December 17, 2024 in Benchmark at Waltham Crossings, in Waltham. She was 97.

Joanne was born in Worcester to the late Michael L. and Olympia Kosmo. She was raised in Worcester before moving with her family to the South End of Boston. She held dear many positive memories of good friends and spending memorable time at her father’s corner stores in both Worcester and the South End. In adulthood she moved to Brighton and worked at the corporate office of Rexall Drug where she met William Walsh. She married Bill and shortly after moved to Holbrook where she cultivated strong and devoted friendships. In 2022 she moved to Benchmark at Waltham Crossings.

She will be remembered for her strength, big and generous heart, and fiercely independent stubbornness. Known and loved by all, she had many nicknames, including Jenny, Joannabanana, hot stuff, and aptly named by her favorite hospice nurse, “my spicy bell pepper”.

She loved the Boston Red Sox, Frank Sinatra, and kept her sharp mind active with word games and crosswords, watching news, and reading books about history and Albania. In her younger (and recent) days she would happily challenge you to a race or an arm wrestle. She loved to dance at weddings, leading the Valle, scarf in hand.

Proud of her Albanian heritage she was a lifelong member of Saint George Albanian Orthodox Cathedral and its Daughters of Saint George Society. She loved her friends and family and devoted herself tirelessly and wholeheartedly to the loving care of her husband for many years during his prolonged illness. Although short in stature, she stood out wherever she went. Everyone she touched was left with some indelible memory of her specialness.

In her last years and especially final days she was lovingly cared for by the staff at Benchmark Assisted Living in Waltham and Care Dimensions Hospice.

In addition to her husband, Bill, she was predeceased by her siblings, Pauline, Victor, Louis, William ‘Vaska’, Elizabeth (Maras), Alexander ‘Jim’, and Henrietta Kosmo.

Joanne leaves her daughter, Lauren O. Walsh and her spouse, Lynn Ciavati of Belmont; many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and their families.

Family and friends will honor and remember Joanne’s life by gathering for a Wake in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham, on Friday, December 20th from 3 to 7 p.m. Her funeral service will be celebrated in St. George Albanian Orthodox Cathedral, 523 East Broadway, South Boston on Saturday, December 21st at 10 a.m. Burial will follow in Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston.

Memorials in her name may be made to St. George Albanian Orthodox Cathedral, 523 East Broadway, South Boston 02127 https://www.saintgeorgecathedral.com or North East Animal Shelter, 347 Highland Avenue, Salem, MA 01970 https://www.mspca.org/adoption-centers/northeast-animal-shelter/