Charles Lambert "Chick" Walsh

WALSH, Charles ""Chick"" Lambert-- San Jose native and well-known Nantucket restaurateur Chick Walsh, who was one of five brothers descended from a prominent San Jose family, died at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York on Sunday, July 7 following a cerebral hemorrhage suffered at his home in Nantucket. His loving wife, Mary; daughter, Alana; son, Liam; and three surviving brothers, Brian, Mark and Mike, were at his side. He was 55.
Chick was the co-owner and managing partner of Nantucket's award-winning ""21 Federal"" restaurant, which was frequently featured in newspapers and lifestyle publications such as Harper's Bazaar, Gourmet, Town and Country, InStyle and Vogue. He was also well known to yachtsmen for his yearly classic wooden sailboat race, ""The Opera House Cup."" Held each August at Nantucket, The Opera House Cup will celebrate its 30th anniversary this summer.
An avid sportsman, Chick participated actively in golf, racquetball, tennis, paddleball, sailing and swimming. With his restaurant partner Nelson Doubleday and other investors, he helped develop the exquisite Nantucket Golf and Country Club. In recent years, Chick returned increasingly to his artistic passion of sculpture and painting, setting a Granite sculpture gift to his wife just the day before his sudden illness.
Chick was born in San Jose in 1946 to Jack and Betty O'Brien Walsh. On his mother's side, he was the fourth generation to live in San Jose. Her family owned and operated O'Brien's Restaurant & Candy Store, a replica of which has been preserved in the San Jose Historical Museum.
Chick attended Saint Patrick's and Saint John Vianney grammar schools in San Jose and graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in 1964. He was among the first graduates of Georgetown University to be awarded a bachelor's degree in fine arts.
He and Mary lived in Nantucket for 33 years, where she operates Nantucket Wine & Spirits, a popular wine shop with an exceptionally large selection of California wines. Chick's charismatic personality, contagious smile and boundless energy built a large and loyal clientele at 21 Federal, where his artistic and culinary talents resulted in an incomparable presentation.
He deeply loved his wife and children, his family and friends and life in general. He will be missed profoundly. In addition to his wife and children, Chick is survived by his brothers and sisters-in-law, Brian and Susan Walsh of San Jose, Mark and Connie Walsh of Maryland, Mike and Barbara Walsh of Santa Cruz, and Patricia Walsh of Arizona; and by 15 nephews and nieces. Chick's older brother, John, died in 1997.
Catholic last rites were performed at Mr. Walsh's hospital bedside. A Memorial service will be performed at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, July 14 at the Unitarian Church in the heart of Nantucket. The family requests that memorials be contributions to Bellarmine College Preparatory, 850 Elm Street, San Jose, California 95126.