W. Duncan Welty ’54

Dunc died Jan. 20, 2023.

He prepared at Maine Township High School in Park Ridge, Ill. He majored in history in the American Civilization Program; joined Cap and Gown Club; played basketball, track, and varsity football; and was active in numerous campus organizations.

Dunc served as a supply clerk, lifeguard, and football coach during Army service from 1955 to 1957, and then embarked on a 40-year career with the American global corporation Cargill. He engaged in grain and commodity trading, capital spending, acquisitions, divestitures, merchant training, and administration, retiring in 1992. He married Ingrid in 1961, and they raised three daughters.  

In retirement, he worked various part-time jobs in the local fitness clubs and country clubs; taught English as a second language in Shandong, China; assisted clients with tax prep at H&R Block, and helped at the USPS during the Christmas holiday rush.

He continued to play tennis, eventually becoming a USPTA certified tennis instructor, teaching senior tennis and coaching a JV boys high school tennis team. He enjoyed recreational biking in Minneapolis and out West. He loved playing hearts, doing crossword puzzles, listening to the songs of Leonard Cohen, and reading The New Yorker.

Dunc is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ingrid; and daughters Catherine and Elizabeth. Daughter Christine died at the age of 23, the victim of a drunken driver.