Monroe, NH - Karl Richard Welsh, 72, while surrounded by family and friends, went home to be with the Lord following an 18 year battle with Parkinson's Disease on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, at Grafton County Nursing Home, North Haverhill, NH.

Karl was born at the former Boston Lying-In Hospital in Boston, MA on December 28, 1946 to John and Edna Inger (Andersen) Welsh.  He grew up on Ruggles St., Boston, living next to the Ruggles Baptist Church, where his father was the church sexton.  He enjoyed spending weekends and summers at their waterfront house on Stanwood Point in W. Gloucester.

His first job, along with family, was at The Museum of Fine Arts as a Security Guard when he was a teenager.  Karl was a graduate of the former Christian High School (now Lexington Christian Academy) in 1964.  From 1965 through 1969 he was trained and worked as an electronics technician for the U.S. Navy in Bar Harbor, ME and Ethiopia, and was honorably discharged. He then attended Northeast Technical Institute in Boston and received a certificate in 1971.  From 1971-1973, Karl worked as an Electronics Technician with Electronics Corporation of America in Cambridge, MA providing technical support to the Engineering Department. From 1973-1976 Karl was a Production Supervisor with Thermo-Electron Corporation in Waltham, MA where he supervised up to 15 production workers involved in the manufacture of environmental control instrumentation and created a standardized procedure manual for manufacturing assembly processes.  Karl's lifelong job starting in 1976, and from which he retired in 2011, was at Thermo-Fisher Scientific in Franklin, MA as an Engineering Aide for one of the company's senior engineers, building and testing prototype electronic circuits for use in environmental monitoring, bomb detectors and automated overhead hoist systems. During that time period, Karl took many science and math courses at Northeastern University in Boston to assist in his career development.

After meeting his sweetheart, Susan, at Ruggles Baptist Church in Boston and marrying, he lived in Cambridge for 12 years prior to moving to Holliston.  He was a member of Westgate Church, volunteered as a trustee and operated the sound system as well as worked with his wife to organize and lead an annual all-church retreat to Sandy Island Camp on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH for many years.  He moved to Uxbridge with his family and during the summers, he and his wife worked at Sandy Island Camp where Karl loved helping his wife run the camp store, and cleaning 19 bathrooms for 15 years, until he was stricken with advancing Parkinson's disease.  He was a member of the Uxbridge Church of the Nazarene, enjoyed acting in church musicals, and helping run the sound system.  Following a dream to live in NH, Karl moved from Uxbridge to Pike, NH in 2011 after retirement,  following his wife, an RN, who took a job at the Oliverian School.  Karl volunteered in the kitchen helping the chef prepare food for the students.  He joined and faithfully attended the Trinity Church of the Nazarene in North Haverhill. He moved to Bath, NH for a few years before ending up in Monroe.

A strong and active man, Karl enjoyed biking, walking, hiking, and loved swimming.  Karl was a faithful, loving, Christian man intensely devoted to his family.  He was an avid reader and loved reading his Bible and being a Godly example to his children and family.  He was respected and admired throughout his life by family and friends.  He and his wife's dream of owning a cabin on a mountain came true in 2014 in Monroe.

His survivors include his wife of 40 years, Susan B. (Lee) Welsh, of Monroe, to whom he was married on August 18, 1979; a daughter Jennifer M. Erickson and husband Erik of Whitinsville, MA; a son, Jason R.Welsh, PhD of Yorktown, VA; 5  Erickson grandchildren:  Elijah, Carter, Cooper, Emma and Abigail; a sister, Joan M. Welsh of W. Gloucester, MA; and several cousins and their children.

Calling hours will be on Tuesday, November 5th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the Ricker Funeral Home, 1 Birch Street, Woodsville, NH.  Family and friends are invited to a Celebration of Life service for Karl on Wednesday, November 6th at 1 PM at the Monroe Community Church at 26 Woodsville Road, Monroe, NH.  Burial will follow in the Monroe Village Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Grafton County Nursing Home, at 3855 Dartmouth College Highway, North Haverhill, NH 03774-4909 for their exceptional care and high level of dedication to all their residents.