LUDLOW, Vt. – Harry Welch died peacefully at his home in Ludlow, Vt., on Monday, April 8, with family by his side as the solar eclipse was commencing. He was the devoted husband of Elizabeth “Betsy” Clemons Welch, Sept. 6, 1929 – Sept. 27, 2015, who died at home as a super blood moon rose in the sky.
Harry leaves his four children Kim (David Levin), Toby (Peg Alden), Barclay (Kristen), and Bonnie (Gary Peck); six grandchildren Sam, Lindsay (Gary Spohn), Nell, Mallory (Aaron Levy), Anja (Bobby Christopher), and Christian; and six great-grandchildren Eleanor, Ava, Oakley, Cutler, Beatrice, and Clara. He loved his family deeply, and cherished spending time together at Peace and Plenty farm. One of his great-grandchildren considered him “his best friend.”
Harry grew up in New Haven, Conn., son of G. Harold Welch and Harriet Wilford Hitchcock Welch, and was the oldest of five children. He leaves behind his brothers Noble and Wilford.
Harry attended The Foote School, and he and Betsy remained close friends with five of his kindergarten classmates, and later their spouses and families, throughout their lifetimes. Harry attended Groton School, where he was a prefect, before going on to Yale University, graduating in 1950. He was an accomplished equestrian, and competed with the Yale Polo team.
After college, Harry was recruited to join the CIA and served the agency in Vienna, Austria. Upon returning to the states, he began a career in banking at the New Haven Savings Bank, graduating from the Stonier School of Banking, then moved to White Weld & Co., where he led the New Haven office. His career also included serving as president of the Edward Malley Company and president of the Yale-New Haven Hospital Development Corporation.
Harry and Betsy believed strongly in supporting organizations in their communities through active volunteer and board engagement. Of note, Harry served on the board of The Yale New-Haven Hospital Corporation (trustee and board chair), The New Haven Water Authority (trustee and board chair), Aviex LLC and Lightbridge Corporation, and the predecessor company Thorium Power. During his time with the Water Authority, Harry was prescient in describing water as the next vital resource we must preserve. Harry was a trustee of Hamden Hall Country Day School and the Foote School. He was a member of the Standing Committee for Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, and a fellow at Jonathan Edwards College (Yale). Harry and Betsy also served together as trustees of Spring Lake Ranch in Shrewsbury, Vt. Harry was a class agent for many years for his Yale and Groton classes.
Harry was a member of the Club at Mory’s, the New Haven Lawn Club, and the Oquossoc Angling Association, where he and Betsy spent their honeymoon and, later in life, many summer visits at their camp. Harry was a Justice of the Peace in Ludlow, Vt., and as part of that role he was a local election official.
Reading was one of his favorite activities – he and Betsy belonged to a vibrant Vermont book group – as was tinkering with various pieces of farm equipment. He loved Peace and Plenty, purchased in 1968, with his whole heart, and spent his weekends and then retirement improving and preserving the property, haying the fields, and mowing the many trails he and the family created.
Jaska Hill was a friend and caretaker for Harry for many years. Harry was fortunate to have a wonderful extended care team.
Donations may be made in his memory to the Betsy Welch Endowed Scholarship Fund, Foote School, 50 Loomis Place, New Haven, CT 06511, or online at www.footeschool.org/supporting-foote/ways-to-give/endowment.
Harry was devoted to his many, many friends who, along with his family, will miss him deeply.
Arrangements are entrusted to the care of the Davis Memorial Chapel, located in Springfield, Vt.