“I met my wife for the first time in her brother’s room in St. Catherine/St. Monica (CM) when she visited,” Patrick Walsh (‘04) recalls. “She’ll deny it, but I’m pretty sure she was in her cheerleading outfit.”
Jaunessa (‘06) indeed denies it.
“Yes, I’m pretty sure he made up the cheerleading uniform part!”
The memory of their first encounter may be up for debate, but one thing certainly isn’t: Pat and Jaunessa Walsh are thankful for every piece of their lives put into place with influence from Gonzaga. They’ve shown their gratitude with gifts to the Gonzaga General Scholarship Fund and the Class of 2006 Bronze Bulldog Fund.
Back to the beginning – when Pat and Jaunessa first met, Pat was just starting to experience what makes Gonzaga so unique.
“I remember from my very first day at Gonzaga, a speech that was given to greet freshmen,” said Pat. “The speaker said, ‘when you walk around Gonzaga, don’t walk around with your head down. Instead, walk with your head up and say ‘hi’ to everyone. Hold doors for everyone.’” Pat accepted this challenge, which he says laid the groundwork for developing the relationships he has today.
When Jaunessa signed on for her own Gonzaga experience, she discovered the same thing.
“Gonzaga taught me the value of developing relationships. Interacting with people, finding common ground, fostering friendships – to see each person as a person, with a valid point of view, with aspirations and fears, talents and flaws, and to not only respect them but to try to get to know them,” she said.
As a freshman, Jaunessa lived in the same hall where Pat’s sister lived, which brought the pair together a few more times. Come the fall of what would be Pat’s senior and Jaunessa’s sophomore year, the two began dating. They were still dating, but became separated by an ocean after Pat’s graduation. He had moved to Seattle and Jaunessa was going to study abroad at Gonzaga-in-Florence.
Jaunessa and Pat Walsh
It was February, and they hadn’t seen each other since September. Pat was flying into Rome to visit Jaunessa for 10 days. Jaunessa remembers it very clearly:
“I met him at the airport. As soon as he got his luggage, he came out to meet me and dropped to a knee. Even though we were in a crowded airport, proposing like this is a foreign concept to Italians. They had no idea what was going on, so we were kind of in our own little world. I was completely in shock, but I said yes!”
Their engagement came with a condition: that Jaunessa would finish both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees as she originally planned. Two and a half years later and Jaunessa had her degrees. She and Pat were married at St. Aloysius on July 7, 2007. Jaunessa pointed out, “Lucky 7/7/7!”
As they come up on their 7th anniversary, Pat and Jaunessa keep Gonzaga close to their hearts by watching and attending as many basketball games as they can and by visiting the trees in front of College Hall every autumn.
If you and your spouse would like to start your own annual Gonzaga tradition, consider making a yearly gift to the University. Alumni couples who give are counted as two toward Gonzaga’s participation tally, making it a gift that is twice as nice!
Make your gift online at gonzaga.edu/give, and be sure to check out more of our featured couples who “love to give!”