Michael Welch - Obituary

n Wednesday March 4, 2009, the beloved husband of Jessie K. Welch; father of Louise A. and Michael Hanlon Welch; brother of James H. and R. Patrick Welch. Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Thursday, March 12 at 11:30 AM at St. Bernard's Catholic Church, Riverdale, MD. Interment Maryland Veterans Cemetery, Cheltenham, MD. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, c/o Development Office, 525 Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205 or the Michael H. Welch Medical Assistance Fund-MACFU, P.O. Box 2770, Germantown, MD 20875. Arrangements by the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, Edgewater, MD. Michael Hentze Welch was born on September 24, 1931 in San Francisco, California. He was the eldest of three, with younger brothers James of Annapolis, MD, and R. Patrick of Davidsonville, MD. The family moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he graduated Calvert Hall College High School in 1948. Following high school, he joined the US Navy and became a radar technician during the Korean Conflict. He went on to receive an honorable discharge in 1954. After his military service, he graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Arts and Education in 1959. Among his many hobbies during his early adulthood, he sailed and repaired his own boats, and was also a trained scuba diver and life guard. He met and married the woman who was truly the love of his life, Jessie Kemp of Riverdale MD, in 1967. His daughter Louise of Timonium, MD was born in 1969, with his son Michael Hanlon of Baltimore MD following in 1972. Due to his innate interest in how things worked (and his propensity for taking things apart) he was a natural mechanical engineer who repaired cars, boats, computers, telephone systems, watches, and countless broken toys. He worked for a variety of companies as an engineer and repair man and then the majority of his career was spent as an operator at IBM. He was also a naturally gifted teacher who taught electronics in the Navy, as well as computer science at St. Jerome's elementary school. He would also teach anything that he found fascinating to anyone who would listen and those who loved him gained invaluable insight into a great number of assorted subjects that he had learned during his long and inquisitive life. An avid reader who was always thinking ahead, he enjoyed the fantasy and science fiction genres most of all. He was never without a cat or a dog; aquariums fill of fish, and plants to tend to. He also loved to plan and build things, and had an impressive assortment of tools of all kinds. He was also a devout Roman Catholic for his entire life, and he went to mass as frequently as he could. His faith defined who he was, and nothing would deter him from carrying out the tenants of his faith to the best of his ability. He fought a long and difficult battle with many ailments. In the last 5 years he had numerous surgeries that took a great toll on his health, but he always bounced back as well as he could. He lived with tremendous pain and discomfort, but that didn't stop him from being strong for and gentle to others. He always had a limited tolerance for “stupid” people, but was also always understanding and quick to forgive. He loved to make those around him laugh, and many who cared for him were greatly moved by his warmth and charm, even during his most trying times. He was loved by many, and will be sorely missed.