Statement by Fred Ryan, Chairman of the Board of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute on the Death of John Thomas Walsh

Simi Valley, California – The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute mourns the passing of John Thomas Walsh, a humanitarian who dedicated his life to improving children’s health around the world through his work with Project HOPE. His groundbreaking efforts to establish children’s hospitals and leading congenital heart programs in Europe and Asia saved and transformed countless young lives.   

In the 1980s, Mr. Walsh was active with President Reagan’s Private Sector Initiative, a program to encourage the involvement of corporate America in the social issues facing our nation. With Mr. Walsh's assistance, this program was expanded to the international arena where he helped organize meetings in Paris, Venice and London. These meetings brought together senior executives from American and European companies to focus on corporate social responsibility. 

John Walsh lived a life of extraordinary service marked by compassion, leadership, and vision—advancing global health, strengthening international partnerships, and embodying the very spirit of private initiative and humanitarian commitment that President Reagan so deeply championed. 

As communism was falling in Eastern Europe in 1990, President Reagan asked Mr. Walsh to accompany him to Warsaw, Gdansk and Berlin.  With Mr. Walsh’s help, President Reagan met with Lech Walesa in the famous Gdansk shipyards where the Solidarity movement was born. 

Immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Mr. Walsh traveled to Berlin to be part of the freedom celebration.  Thirty years later he returned to Berlin to dedicate the statue of Ronald Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate. 

John Walsh devoted his life to lifting others—building hospitals, training doctors, and bringing hope to communities around the world. His extraordinary service reflected the very best of American compassion and leadership, and his legacy will continue to inspire all who believe in the power of individual initiative to change lives. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with John Walsh’s family, which includes his wife, Mary, his four children, and ten grandchildren. His deep love and active presence in his children’s and grandchildren’s lives were truly among his greatest joys.  

John Walsh was a trusted and devoted friend to so many of us who served President and Mrs. Reagan.  He will be deeply missed.

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Contact:  Melissa Giller
mgiller@reaganfoundation.org