Obituary of Margaret Welsh

Margaret Burke Welsh, a long time Darien resident, died peacefully July 19, 2013 at age 94. Born in Toronto, Canada, she was the daughter of Francis and Ruth Gagnon Burke. She is predeceased by her husband of 63 years, John F. (Jack) Welsh, retired chairman of the advertising firm of Warwick, Welsh & Miller, who died in 2010. Margaret Welsh moved to Darien in 1954 with her husband and two young children. She was a longtime member of the Darien Garden Club. In her early years in town she was Vice President of the League of Women Voters and was active in the Darien Community Association as chairman of the Art Lecture Series and an editor of the yearbook. She also served as a docent at the Lockwood Matthews House. Avid tennis players, she and her husband were active in the Tokeneke Club and, over a ten year period in their retirement, played tennis around the world with the People-to People Tennis Programs in Asia, South America and Africa. Margaret Welsh took special pride in her roles as wife and mother. She elegantly hosted many dinners and receptions at their Darien home and at the Tokeneke Club for business and family. After retirement Jack and Margaret Welsh began an association with the International Executive Service Corps (IESC). In 1982, they moved to Indonesia where they were involved in counseling the management of a Jakarta advertising agency. Raised in Timmins, Ontario, she was educated in Toronto and attended the Marymount School in Tarrytown, NY and the Cours Marymount in Neuilly-Sur-Seine, France. After a European tour, she entered McGill University in Montreal in 1939 and earned her BA in 1942. During World War II, Mrs. Welsh worked at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. where she met Prime Minister Winston Churchill. She also worked at the British Information Service in New York City and at Columbia University. She is survived by her sister Angela Burke and her husband Richard Kerrigan of Knowlton, Canada, son Peter and his wife Martha of Sudbury, MA, daughter Diana Vietor of La Quinta, CA and six grandchildren. Funeral services and private burial were held on July 24, 2013. Funeral Home: Edward Lawrence Funeral Home 2119 Post Road Darien, CT USA 06820