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James Richard Walsh III passed away in the early hours of March 20, 2026, at the Spirit Mountain Hospice House in Cody, Wyoming, concluding a life dedicated to service and filled with immeasurable love.
The second of eight children born to James Richard Walsh, Jr., and Daisy (Prince) Walsh, Richard was born in his father’s native Buffalo, New York. The family eventually settled in Charleston, South Carolina, Daisy’s hometown, where the Walsh children were reared in the Roman Catholic Church and educated in the local diocesan school system. After graduating from Bishop England High School in 1972, where he was student body co-president his senior year, Richard began his studies at Georgetown University. Upon receiving his bachelor’s degree from the School of Foreign Service, he returned to Bishop England to teach church history for two years before pursuing his Ph.D. in international relations at the University of South Carolina, which he obtained in 1984.
Richard began a career in higher education, teaching international relations with a focus on East Asia at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. While living in Springfield, he and his wife Susan welcomed their two sons, Matthew Hale and James Cameron. In 1989, Richard accepted a faculty position at the U.S. Air War College in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1993, he was commissioned into the U.S. Foreign Service and was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, at which time he and his wife separated.
In 1997, during his second tour in Havana, he met first-tour Foreign Service Officer Jennifer De Witt. They married in July 1999, at the bride’s home parish of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Powell, Wyoming. They subsequently served together at U.S. diplomatic posts in China, Venezuela, Nigeria, Jamaica and Egypt, welcoming son John De Witt and daughter Josephine Anna along the way.
After a final tour as Consul General in Bogotá, Colombia, Richard retired from the Senior Foreign Service in 2018 and accompanied Jennifer on subsequent tours to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Frankfurt, Germany. He was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in November 2022 and relocated to his adopted home in Wyoming in January 2026.
Richard’s temperament and character earned him the admiration and adoration of many. His integrity and commitment to the duties of his office made him a respected colleague and mentor. At home, his mastery in the kitchen and generosity as a host made him a treasured friend.
Richard was preceded in death by his father. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer; his mother, Daisy; his seven siblings: sisters Barbara Bianchi, Susan Lipsey, Shannon O’Brien, Virginia Reijners, Mary Nickle, Patricia Dukes, and brother Michael; his four children: Matthew (Alison), James (Midori), John, and Josephine; and seven grandchildren.
Services will be held on Friday, March 27, at 3 p.m., at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Powell and later this year at the Church of the Epiphany in Washington, D.C.
Memorials may be sent to the Student Travel Endowment or International Student Scholarship Endowment of the Northwest College Foundation at nwc.edu.
