Obituary of Sam Welch

Edward Samuel (Sam) Welch passed on February 15, 2023 peacefully and in the company of family. He was a loving husband and a devoted father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Sam was born in Shenandoah, Iowa on July 16, 1938 to Wayne Nye Welch and Warrene Craft Welch. He graduated from Shenandoah High School where he played sports as a Shenandoah Mustang. Sam then went to the University of Iowa in Iowa City where he met Judy Smith, which turned out to be a fortunate meeting since Sam and Judy celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary on February 13th, 2023. Sam and Judy returned to Shenandoah where Sam joined the family business, Mount Arbor Nurseries. He was President of Mount Arbor for many years and is a past President of the American Rose Society. They have two sons, Anthony Warren (Tony) and Edward Samuel III (Rocky). Upon retirement, Sam and Judy moved to Venice, Florida where many rounds of golf were played. Sam was a fine golfer and managed to come out ahead more often than not in friendly golf events. He especially enjoyed discussing golf with his northern friends in the winter. When Sam wasn’t golfing or following Iowa Hawkeye sports, he enjoyed traveling with Judy. They made several trips to Europe and created countless memories. Sam was a wonderful storyteller and made many friends over the years. Thanks to those friends and his family, he had what can only be referred to as a life well lived. Sam is preceded in passing by his parents, brother Wayne (Pug) Welch, and granddaughter Terra Welch. Those left to enjoy the memories are his beloved wife, Judy, sons Tony (Jayme) of Nokomis, FL and Rocky (Tyco) of Palatka, FL, grandchildren Heidi Christie (Mike) of Orlando, FL, Anthony Welch, Jr (Justina) of Woodstock, GA, and Andrew Welch (Kim) of Nokomis, FL. His eight great-grandchildren, Taylor, Taryn, Teigha, Shayn, Samson, Madison, Parker, and Ben were all fortunate to know their Grandpa Sam. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to the local Hospice.