Park Policeman Walsh | Star #433

Park Policeman Raymond Earl Walsh, Star #433, aged 28 years, was a 1 year, 7 month veteran of the North Shore Park District Police Department, assigned to the Rogers Park District.

On March 8, 1925, Officer Walsh was riding his police motorcycle in pursuit of a speeding vehicle when he was struck by a taxi on North Sheridan Road. Officer Walsh was fatally injured. The vehicle he was attempting to stop was never identified and the driver was never apprehended.

Officer Walsh was waked at his residence located at 6019 North Newgard Avenue. His funeral mass was held in Requiem at St. Ignatius Church located at 6559 North Glenwood Avenue. He was laid to rest on March 11, 1925 in All Saints Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum, 700 North River Road, Des Plaines, Illinois. His grave is located in Grave 1, Lot S 1/2 8, Block 7, Section 12.

Park Policeman Raymond Earl Walsh, born in October 31, 1896, received his Probationary Appointment to the North Shore Park District Police Department in October, 1923.

Officer Walsh served in the U.S. Army from April 1, 1917 thru June 8, 1919, was a veteran of World War I and was Honorably Discharged at the rank of Private. He served in France on the Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel’s fronts, was cited for bravery and awarded the Bronze Cross twice. Officer Walsh was survived by his wife, Marie C.; parents: Delia (nee Toomey) and James A. and siblings: James A. “Pal”, age 28 and Loretto. He was the first holder of the Tribune Federal Life accident life insurance plan to be killed. He applied for the policy and sent in a coupon with $1.00 only one week before his death. His mother received a $2,000.00 death benefit payment following his death.

Chicago Police Historical Homicide Database case not found for this incident.

The North Shore Park District, one of 22 independent park districts was consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Unlike most of these park boards, the North Shore District, formed in 1900, was at first interested only in enhancing the area through boulevard improvements along Sheridan Road, Pratt Boulevard, and Ashland Avenue. By 1905, however, public pressure had prompted the district to consider park development. The district spent several years mulling its options. Finally, in 1909, at the urging of the Rogers Park Woman’s Club, the North Shore District determined to concentrate its resources on purchasing land for a single beachfront park and boating basin known as North Shore Park. Shortly thereafter, noted landscape architect and engineer O.C. Simonds developed plans for a pier at the site, but these were never realized. By 1917, the North Shore District had acquired more than nine acres of lakeshore property. A small field house, built in 1923, soon provided game and club rooms. Playfields were flooded for ice skating in winter; in 1929, the local American Legion post erected a shelter house for skaters. Several years after the Chicago Park District took over in 1934, local residents asked that North Shore Park be renamed. The park district agreed, and held a contest to choose a new name. Neighborhood residents favored the name Loyola Park, for nearby Loyola University. The Jesuits began to develop this important Rogers Park institution in 1906, when they purchased a 20-acre site between Devon and Loyola Avenues. During the 1930s, the university raised its neighborhood profile substantially by constructing a number of dramatic Art Deco buildings, including the Madonna della Strada Chapel. Around 1950, the Chicago Park District more than doubled the size of Loyola Park and built a new field house with an adjacent grandstand. Another half-acre was added in 1971, bringing the size of Loyola Park to more than 21.5 acres.