Mr. Gerard Joseph Welch's Obituary
WELCH – Gerard Joseph Welch, (Jerry), a long-time resident of Dunedin, Florida and member of Light of Christ Catholic Church in Clearwater, died peacefully in his home on May 28, 2015. He is survived by Mary Grace Welch (nee Lombana), his loving wife of 57 years and their daughter Kathleen, son Jerry Welch and his wife Mary of North Olmsted, OH, and son Chris Welch of Clearwater, Florida. He is the cherished and loving Grandfather of James, Timothy, Emma, and Anna Welch, a loving brother-in-law and uncle of many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edward F. and Mary A. Welch (nee Corrigan), and by his siblings Paul, Virginia, Dolores and Edward.
Jerry was born and raised in the Canal Zone on the Isthmus of Panama where his father began working on the construction of the Panama Canal in early 1910. He was an Industrial Engineer by profession with degrees from the Canal Zone College and Oklahoma State University. He was a Fellow of the National Institute of Public Affairs. He joined the Panama Canal Company, a U.S. Federal Government agency, in 1955. In 1962, he was promoted to the Office of the Governor of the Canal Zone, where he eventually became the agency’s Director of the Office of Executive Planning. In 1964 he was awarded a Ford Foundation fellowship to pursue an MBA at the University of Chicago.
Over his Civil Service career, Jerry managed the planning, design, and construction of a computerized marine traffic control system for the Panama Canal; directed a treaty planning group responsible for establishing Agency positions and assessments of the potential operational and jurisdictional impacts of the new treaty relationship between the United States and the Republic of Panama; coordinated briefings and tours of the Canal Zone for United States Senators and Congressmen, their staffers, members of the Department of State; and coordinated the 1977 visit of the President of the United States to the Canal Zone. Upon ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty in 1977, Jerry was appointed United States Coordinator for the Treaty and Co-Chairman of the International Treaty Coordinating Committee. He retired as a presidential appointee to the Executive Service.
Jerry’s life was centered on God. He was devoted to his wife Grace and his family whom he loved very much. He faithfully served the Catholic Church, both in the Canal Zone and the Clearwater area where he and his wife, Grace, were deeply involved for many years in the R.C.I.A. process for persons interested in becoming Catholic and helped establish the Catholic Resource Center at Light of Christ parish. He served as Chairman of the United Way in the Canal Zone and served on the Board of Directors for the Boy Scouts of America (Canal Zone) and the Panama Canal College. In retirement he volunteered at the Dunedin and Palm Harbor Senior Centers helping senior adults become proficient with personal computers.
A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated on June 9, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. at Light of Christ Catholic Church in Clearwater, Florida. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of Mercy (address: Sisters of Mercy-CCASA Community, c/o: Rebecca Burian, 8380 Colesville Rd. Ste. 300, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910-3243 [Memo section: For Sr. Barbara Ozelski/Women's Center in Colon, Panama]. The Women’s Center houses homeless and abused mothers and children in the Republic of Panama. Contributions may also be made to Suncoast Hospice. Arrangements by Moss Feaster Funeral Home, Dunedin.
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