MARTHA WELCH
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Born in Syracuse New York, she was the daughter of the late Mary and Adalbert Rachy of New York City. Her brother, Joseph L. Rachy, of West Hartford, Connecticut, also predeceased her.
Mrs. Welch holds baccalaureate and masters degrees from Columbia University in New York City. She worked in the field of public health education for the New York City Board of Education. She also acted as a substitute principal in the Harlem section of the Borough of the Bronx. In her early years she was active in the Catholic Worker Movement working with Dorothy Day, the founder of that social justice movement.
Shortly after her marriage in 1962 she came to Fort Dodge with her husband who had retired from the New York Telephone Company. For many years they wintered in Tucson, Arizona. She continued her interest in public health, monitoring examinations and otherwise assisting the Arizona State University’s Department of Health.
Mrs. Welch was a lay Benedictine and a major benefactor of Catholic charitable and educational causes. These include local Catholic schools, the Food for the Poor program in the Caribbean, and the support of Catholic colleges, universities and seminaries.
She is survived by her niece, Marcia F. Rachy, of Arlington, Virginia.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Benedictine Mission House, P.O. Box 528, Schuyler, NE 68661; Sisters of St. Benedict, Mount St. Benedict Monastery, 620 Summit Avenue, Crookston, MN 36716; or Food for the Poor, Inc., 550 SW 12th Avenue, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 17 at Corpus Christi Church with Rev. Lynn Bruch officiating. Burial will be in Corpus Christi Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. today at Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home where there will be a Catholic Daughters of the Americas Rosary at 4:30 p.m.
