Roy D. Welch Jr. ’50

Roy died Oct. 14, 2019, in Mystic, Conn., where he had lived for 40 years.

A graduate of The Hill School, he spent two years at Princeton, then graduated from Northwestern with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English. He went on to Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., and served as a line officer in Hawaii and on ships for two years.

Leaving the service, he worked for Rand McNally in Chicago before entering the field of educational development. In 1964 he moved to Rhode Island, where he held jobs in college development before becoming director of development at Connecticut College in 1978. He then founded his own development company, organizing successful campaigns for community organizations and churches.

Roy’s father founded Princeton’s music department, and his mother was a concert pianist. He started playing the violin at 7 and claimed that as a child, he was paid 5 cents to sing at the University Chapel with his brother.

His three passions were woodworking (he built three harpsichords), music (his rich bass voice enriched many choirs), and photography.

He and Connie, whom he married in 1951 and who predeceased him, were regulars at our mini-reunions. Roy is survived by four children, six grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.