Edward Bridgman Welch

Newport, - Edward Bridgman Welch, 92, of 70 Harrison Ave Newport, died Saturday, November 30, 2002 at Village House Newport, RI. He was the husband of Elizabeth Clark Welch. Born in Williamstown, MA on October 11, 1910, he was the son of Thomas F. Welch and Delila LaPlante Welch. Mr. Welch taught at Williamstown High School until 1938 and then accepted a position at New York Military Academy in Cornwall on Hudson, NY. In November 1939 he married Elizabeth Clark, also of Williamstown, MA. In August 1943, he was drafted by the US Army and served in Europe. He was captured by German troops in November 1944 and remained a Prisoner Of War until the end of the war. After his discharge from the Army, he became a member of the faculty of the post war branch of the University of Massachusetts at Ft. Devens. In 1948, he joined the faculty of Westfield State College in Westfield, MA where he subsequently served as Dean of Men and Director of Admissions. He retired in 1973. His efforts were crucial in expanding the campus and transferring the college to its present location. After his retirement the Commonwealth named a new student dormitory Welch Hall in his honor. Upon his retirement, he and his wife moved to Newport, RI where they resided until 1985. In Newport, he served as a guide and historian at the Preservation Society? Hunter House and wrote a history of the house. They lived in Mansfield, CT from 1985 until 2000, when they returned to Newport. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Elizabeth Clark of Middletown, RI, a son Christopher Welch of Newport, RI, and a daughter Alicia Watt and her husband James Watt of Mansfield, CT, and two grandchildren Jesse Watt of London, England, and Ian Watt of Mansfield, CT, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by seven brothers and sisters. His funeral will be held Saturday, December 7, at 9:00am with a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Marys Church, Spring Street, Newport. Burial will be private.