TOPSHAM – Bernice E. Welch, 83, of Topsham, VT passed away with her family by her side on June 13, 2021 at the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative & Hospice Care in Lebanon, NH.

Bernice, or "Bunny" to all who knew her, was born on January 19 ^th , 1938 to Albert and Blanche Keenan in Topsham, VT. She spent most of her childhood in Topsham and Benson, VT. Her fondest childhood memories were of the years she spent living with her grandparents, Leander and Anna Dexter.

Bunny was engaged to Duncan Welch in 1954. She graduated from Bradford Academy in 1956 and married Dunc a few months later, in September of that year. Dunc and Bunny spent the beginning of their married life living in East Topsham Village, while they built their house on Dunc's family farm on Welch Road in Topsham. They had four children – Guy in 1958, Sheila in 1959, Marc in 1961 and Susan in 1969. This was the beginning of the loving and welcoming home that they opened to so many, including their children's friends and spouses, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, extended family and neighbors.

Bunny started her cooking career in the 7 ^th grade, at Kehoe's Restaurant in Castleton, VT. She laughed that she "was supposed to be peeling potatoes but was making pies." She started working in the school lunch programs in 1956, first at East Topsham Graded School and then on to Union 36 Elementary School. She later cooked at Cottage Hospital and Brookside Nursing Home, before returning to the school lunch program at Waits River Valley School, where she remained until her retirement in 2006.

Bunny spent years as a 4H leader with her best friend, Juanita (Spooner) Claflin. She was involved with the Couples Club, the PTA, and was Secretary for the Topsham Cemetery Association for 25 years. She was a member of the Riverside Grange and was an Elder of the Topsham United Presbyterian Church for several years.

Bunny had many talents – she could cook anything, clean anything, knit beautiful mittens and baby blankets. She was an expert pie-baker, laundry-folder, gift-wrapper and care-taker. She loved trying new recipes and collecting cookbooks and cooking magazines. Her family loved her springtime gatherings with perfectly boiled syrup for sugar-on-snow and the best plain donuts to dunk in fresh maple syrup.

Bunny had an independent spirit, which she was proud of. She told stories of cashing one of her first paychecks and hitching a ride to Rutland with a truckdriver, so she could buy herself an outfit for her Aunt Eunice's wedding; and of taking it upon herself to rip down a wall to make herself a bigger kitchen (she unfortunately did not realize that it was a support wall). She got herself a tatoo at the age of 65, at the challenge of her grandson-in-law, who told her that she didn't dare. And when Dunc expressed his disapproval, she showed him the spot on her forearm where she'd get her next one.

Bunny loved an adventure. Some of her granddaughters recall a trip to Florida where they loaded her into a wheelchair, bags up to her chin, and ran her through the airport while she yelled at everyone to clear the way. One of her favorite places for adventure was Cape Cod. She started spending summer vacations there at the age of 7 and later brought along all of her children and her grandchildren. She loved to browse around the Christmas Tree Shop and the gift shops on Route 6A, eat lobster, and sit on the beach with her feet in the sand, watching her family enjoy the place that she loved so much.

Bunny's greatest pride was the family she and Dunc created. Family holidays were very special to her, and she enjoyed cooking for her entire family. She remembered early years stuffing turkey with her four children hanging around the table. The crowd that she fed eventually grew to over 40. She did it with ease, baking up to 20 pies for Thanksgiving so everyone could have their favorite.

Above all else, Bunny provided her children and grandchildren with a good and happy life, a sense of safety and security, and a strong sense of family. She modeled how to overcome hardship; that experiences don't define us, but make us wiser and stronger. She taught her family how to love and hug, and how to take care of each other. She said that her grandmother always told her that "you have to keep up with the times," and she did.

Bunny is survived by her younger brothers, Rodney Keenan and Dexter King; her four children, Guy Welch and wife Annette, Sheila Poliquin and husband Paul, Marc Welch and wife Peggy, Susan Emerson and husband Albert, all of Topsham, VT. She is also survived by her 10 grandchildren, Shelly (Welch) Calley and husband Sam, Amie (Welch) Trojanowski and husband Eric, Guy Welch Jr. and wife Aubrey, Aaron Welch and wife Teri, Hannah (Welch) Denoncour and husband Mark, Jesse (Poliquin) Meyer and husband Will, Grant Poliquin and wife Lauria, Carrie Emerson and fiancé Ryan DeLaBruere, Dana (Emerson) Boudreau and husband Chris, and Duncan Emerson; 15 great-grandchildren, Kayleigh and Ivie Trojanowski, Parker and Raina Calley, Nikolas, Scotty and James Garrison, Edmund, Nathan and Eva Welch, Easton and Paisley Meyer, Sarah Jane and Ellie Welch, Reid Poliquin; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

She is predeceased by her grandparents Anna and Leander Dexter; her mother, Blanche King; her older brother, James Keenan; and her husband of 60 years, Duncan Welch.

Calling hours will be held at Ricker Funeral Home in Woodsville, NH on Thursday, June 17th from 6:00 to 7:00pm. A service will be held at Topsham United Presbyterian Church on Friday, June 18 ^th at 10:00am.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Topsham United Presbyterian Church, PO Box 61, Topsham, VT 05076 or the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative & Hospice Care, ATTN:  Office of Development, One Medical Center Dr. Lebanon, NH 03766.