Long-serving Delaware judge and Delaware Supreme Court Justice Joseph T. Walsh has died.

Walsh, 84, was first appointed to the bench in 1972, on Superior Court. He was appointed to the Court of Chancery in 1984 and then to the Delaware Supreme Court in 1985, where he served until 2003.

Walsh had been battling cancer and recently suffered a relapse, according to friends. He passed away Friday morning.

Walsh was recalled by friends and colleagues on Friday as an old-school “judge’s judge.”

“He defined the role of a Delaware judge … the gold standard,” said Delaware Justice Randy Holland, who served with Walsh on the state’s highest court.

“He was really a rock on the Supreme Court,” said former Chief Justice E. Norman Veasey, who served with Walsh and also was related to him by marriage. “He was just a wonderful human being.”

“Above all else my father was a man who loved and cared for his family,” said Walsh’s son, Tom. “He was the rock for each and every one of us… He was always there. He gave generously of himself and was fair to everyone.”

Kevin Walsh, another son, said his father, “had a brilliant mind, was a man of deep faith and a wonderful, wonderful father.”

Longtime Wilmington attorney Dan Lyons said Walsh “was a throwback to the old Delaware Bar when we all knew one another.” Walsh began practicing law in the 1950s after graduating from Georgetown Law School in 1954.

“He was a gentleman, respected by every single person in the legal community. I just can’t say enough good things about him,” Lyons said.

State Prosecutor Kathleen Jennings, who appeared before Walsh as a prosecutor, said Walsh also was a workhorse, willing to take on cases when other judges were not available.

“He was understated and under-rated,” said Professor Lawrence Hamermesh at Widener Law School, where Walsh was an adjunct professor for many years. Hamermesh said to this day some of Walsh’s decisions remain the definitive word on certain business law matters.

After leaving the state’s highest court in 2003, Walsh returned to private practice and worked at McCarter English until his retirement a few years ago.

“He was my partner here for 10 years and I’ve not met a finer individual in my whole life,” said McCarter English Chairman Michael P. Kelly, adding he was particularly struck by Walsh’s compassion and charity work.

“Actions speak louder than words,” Kelly said, and Walsh was active in supporting charitable causes in the Catholic Church and founded the Pro-Bono Inn of Court, to help the indigent get free legal help.

Walsh, a native Delawarean, was known to be quiet, reserved and unemotional when he was in his judicial robes. But off the bench he was recalled as warm and caring.

“He continued to treat me like a daughter, even after I became his ex-daughter in law,” said attorney Diane M. Coffey. “This is a small example of the big heart and class he had. He was very special. He leaves a void that can’t be filled.”

Funeral arrangements were not set as of Friday.

Contact Sean O’Sullivan at 302 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @SeanGOSullivan