Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Darlene Mae Bushnell was born to Clara and Ernest Bushnell in the family farmhouse in Philomath, Oregon, in 1940. Darlene was raised in the Willamette Valley with nine siblings: Buster, Evelyn, Arlen, Rex, Larry, Janet, Joyce, Carol and Danny. Her father was a carpenter and cropper on the farm while her mother was a stay-at-home mom. The family was raised Baptist. The kids walked to school and Darlene was always a good student. The family had musical talents and Darlene enjoyed singing. She went through school to the 10th grade and then she wanted to live life. She moved to Los Alamitos in Southern California to help babysit for her aunt and uncle. It was during this stay with her relatives when she met Robert Walsh after he served in the Marine Corps. Bob asked her out and they started dating.

When Bob moved to North Dakota to work in construction at the Grand Forks Air Force Base, the couple stayed in touch. They wrote letters by hand, corresponding through the United States Mail Service. It was clear that the couple had so much in common and had fallen in love. Bob proposed marriage in a written letter asking, "Do you want to get married?" Darlene responded to the proposal in writing saying, "Okay." Bob took his savings and sent Darlene a bus ticket to North Dakota. He bought her a set of expensive rings and prepared for her arrival. In 1961, Darlene and Bob were married before a Justice of the Peace on New Year's Eve in Minnesota, where they exchanged the traditional wedding vows. "Could I Have This Dance" for the rest of my life, performed by Anne Murray, became the couple's favorite song. Bob adopted Darlene's young daughter, Cheyrl Ann, when she was three-years-old. Cheyrl Ann was born in Oregon. As the family traveled by following Bob's construction work, their children were born in different states. Their son, Gene, was born in South Dakota. Their son, Scott, was born in Washington. Their daughter, Darlene, was born in Southern California. And, their youngest son, Arlen, was born in Medford, Oregon. With five children, the Walsh family was complete. Darlene was close to all of her children. The family always had a lot of fun and good times while traveling. But, with the kids in school, it was time to settle down. After years of moving around, the family lived in Norwalk for four years and then moved to Fullerton for a year. In 1976, they rented a home in Cypress and bought that home a year later.

Darlene worked at home, taking care of the kids and the house. She oftentimes moved furniture around the house during the day while Bob was at work and the kids were in school. When everyone came home at the end of the day, the home looked different. She even moved the bed one time, surprising Bob. She was supportive of the kids and enjoyed watching them go motorcycling. It was an activity she liked so much, she even took part. One time, she won a Mother's Day Race when the other gal fell off of her motorcycle. Darlene was riding an Indian 80 and the roughest course the family ever rode. She was slow and steady and by the end of the race, she was the only one riding. She liked watching the kids race on motorcycles. In the 1970s, Darlene was also a Master Golfer as she hit a hole in one her first time out. It was hole number 8 in Norwalk and the hole was 90 yards. After Darlene hit the golf ball, Bob thought she had lost it, but when he pulled the pin, her ball popped out of the hole. It was an incredible shot and in fact, Darlene had hit a hole in one! Accomplishing this rare feat, she never touched a golf club again. Once she mastered something, she had a habit of moving on. One time, she wanted to make the perfect Lemon Meringue Pie. She tried a strong amount of lemon extract that made the pie a little tart. With practice, she made half a dozen pies until she found the right balance of ingredients. Her pies became absolute perfection. Once she knew how to make the pies with an amazing taste and the right amount of lemon extract, she never made another pie. She set goals for herself and once accomplished, she moved onto another goal.

Darlene's brother, Arlen, worked with Bob for a while, helping with construction jobs in Washington. It was extremely difficult when Arlen broke his neck in his mid-30s when he dove off a cliff into the water in Washington. He became a quadriplegic from the accident and for a few years, he lived with Darlene and Bob. Arlen served in the Air Force and since he was a veteran, Darlene became very supportive of organizations that helped paralyzed veterans. Arlen lived for another 40 years after the accident, saying he lived so long because of the good care from his family. In the 70s, when Darlene was so sick, Bob did everything he could to help her get medical care. Finally, doctors removed her thyroid and it was like a light switch going off and she was more like herself. They rose to the occasion to face the challenges, because Darlene and Bob believed in their wedding vows knowing that marriage is marriage for life. They loved each other so very much and oftentimes shared dances in their garage. On New Year's Eve, they turned the garage into a dance floor and always shared dances.

Darlene had many favorites. She was an Elvis superfan as she loved his music. Her favorite song by Elvis was "Mama Liked the Roses." She bought hundreds of Elvis memorabilia over the years and many of the boxes remain unopened. It was a collection that she built quietly of guitars, records, coo-coo clocks, pictures and other items. She even owned Elvis plates that light up. Her favorite color was lavender. She loved holidays and liked decorating the Christmas tree every year. The family called her a "commercial cook," as she prayed to God the meal didn't burn before the next television commercial. She made delicious gravy, potato salad and fried chicken. She loved eating lobster. When she won the prize on a quarter machine while gambling, she took Bob, young Darlene and Aunt Helen out for an incredible lobster dinner. Her favorite beverage was Bud Light and she was a tea and coffee drinker. One of her favorite sayings was, "You bugger," in a funny way.

Darlene loved the annual family reunions in Oregon, where more than 150 extended family members of aunts, uncles and cousins gathered together. She and Bob attended those reunions for decades. Darlene was especially close to Aunt Lois, Uncle Willie, and Aunt Pauline. For vacations, there were wonderful trips over the years. In September 2001, the couple went to Norway for a week and England for a week. In fact, they were on a catamaran in Oslo, Norway, when 9/11 happened. More recently, Darlene and Bob took a motor home to Arizona to visit their son, Arlen, at Thanksgiving and it was a terrific visit. She was also looking forward to taking the motor home to the family reunion this year.

Darlene went from hating sports early in her marriage to loving it when Bob and the kids got involved in it. She loved the Seattle Seahawks and when they had a family pool, she won the bet. She was rarely on the computer but her family joked that maybe she was researching teams on NFL.com, but she wasn't. For fun, she played pinochle for many years with Bob and another couple, Phyllis and Bud. She liked playing Bingo at the Boys and Girls Club and she loved doing crossword puzzles with Scott. Darlene loved to laugh throughout her life, enjoying smiles with her family.

Darlene's favorite flowers were lilies and she liked roses. She loved reading Harlequin romances, as she owned thousands of the romance novels. She was a romantic, who always said, "I love you," to her husband. She ended every telephone conversation with her children with the words, "I love you." She was a hugger, showing affection all the time with her grandchildren, as she was known as Grandma. She loved taking pictures of her grandkids at gatherings and holidays. In fact, she's not in many photos because she was always behind the camera taking the pictures. In many ways, Darlene's life was about everyone else as she was a caretaker to her family. She never dressed fancy, but made the effort to take care of everybody else. She never worried about herself. More recently, she was inseparable from young Darlene, as they developed a special relationship at home. The last dance that she had with her husband, she was pictured on her tippy toes slow dancing to their song by Anne Murray with the man she loved her entire life.

In the days before, Darlene was fine. She was looking through the book "365 Ways to Make a Chicken," because she was planning on making a new meal. On Thursday, she was at her best. As she liked her sweets, she baked a white cake and iced it during that day. After a fall, everything moved so fast and her passing was completely unexpected. The family has wonderful memories of Darlene. She will be remembered as a person who was stronger than glue as she held everything and everyone together. She kept everyone in line and loved in the in-laws and out-laws just the same. She was a great all-around person.

With strong beliefs in God and Heaven, the family feels that Darlene is at peace. Her advice to her family would be to go on with your lives and make her proud. She would also wish for success for her grandchildren. Her family will miss everything about her, especially her presence. Her sister, Carol, who lives in Arizona, will miss calling Darlene in California. She called at lunchtime during the day to check on Darlene. When Carol called, Darlene asked, "Are you calling to get your Darlene fix?" The answer was always, "Yes." Bob will miss talking with her by phone or in person, because he loved the sound of her voice. Even if she was sick, she made everyone else feel better. Everyone in the family will miss her saying, "I love you…"

Darlene was preceded in death by her parents Clara and Ernest; sister Evelyn; and brother Arlen. She is loved and remembered by her husband Bob; daughter Cheyrl Ann and son-in-law Rick; son Gene and daughter-in-law Chris; son Scott; daughter Darlene; son Arlen and daughter-in-law Beverly; nine grandchildren, Bubba, Ashley, Joseph, Eric, Amber, Samantha, Chelsea, Emily, and Tristan; siblings Buster, Rex, Larry, Janet, Joyce, Carol and Danny; in-laws, cousins, nephews, nieces, extended relatives, neighbors and friends.

Memorial donations are welcome in Darlene Walsh's name to Paralyzed Veterans of America http://www.pva.org.

May she rest in peace…