Obituary for Richard Douglas Welsh
Richard Welsh
March 4, 1935 - June 3, 2022
Richard Douglas Welsh passed away suddenly on Friday, June 3rd, 2022. He was one of twelve children, born to Thomas and Helena Welsh in the small town of Stewiacke, Nova Scotia on March 4th, 1935. He will be sorely missed by his son, Richard; daughter, Teresa (Kristo); grandsons, Nicholas, Benjamin and Sam; former spouse, Sandra Welsh; brother, Denny; sisters, Emma and Marg (Harry); many nieces and nephews, fellow servicemen, friends and neighbours that became friends.
Richard was married in 1959 to Sandra Welsh and together they had a daughter, Teresa in 1960 and a son, Richard, 14 months later. Having joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1958 and after a 3 year stint in Germany, the family was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, where he became part of the Fort Garry Horse later rebadged as The Lord Strathcona’s. He proudly served his country for 17 years retiring as a warrant officer in 1975. During this time he did 3 peacekeeping tours in Cyprus and witnessed many things that he had difficulty sharing to the day he passed. Still, he was so proud to serve.
Once retired from the army he enjoyed a variety of jobs and hobbies. He purchased H. Wernaer Holdings, a picture framing business, and enjoyed choosing and making just the right frame for his customers’ artwork or cherished photos. He then moved on to nurturing his love of mechanics and worked for “Motorways Trucking”. When his bones started to get achy he moved on to a job as a supervisor at Spalding Hardware, where he was able to lead and mentor a great work team. “Cruise Canada“ was his next stop, servicing RV vehicles and getting them ready for the next tourist to journey around the country he so loved.
Not quite ready to fully retire, he took a job managing a campsite in the Kananaskis. This was a perfect fit. He was able to live in his camperized van and spend most of his time outdoors. He had a consistent, new audience to share his stories, jokes, quirky sayings and vast knowledge of the outdoors with … even if he did make up what some of the animal tracks were.
Richard was a generous spirit. He was a great handyman always ready to help; a Jack of all trades. His loves were his family, the outdoors, fishing, boxing, restoring Volkswagen Beetles, hanging out in his garage with friends and neighbours, rigging things up, re-inventing ways to reuse something to keep it from being thrown out, singing really loudly and very off key, fish and chips, sharing his knowledge and making people laugh.
He is predeceased by his parents, Tom and Helena; brothers, Victor, Fred, Donnie, Tommy, Reg, Cyril, Ronnie and sister Lorraine.
Richard was one of a kind. He really will be missed more than words can say.
Come share in a Celebration of Richards Life on Saturday, July 2nd, 2022 at 11:00 am at The Royal Canadian Legion #285 (9202 Horton Rd. S.W. Calgary, Alberta).
To view and share photos, condolences and memories of Richard, please visit www.choicememorial.com.
March 4, 1935 - June 3, 2022
Richard Douglas Welsh passed away suddenly on Friday, June 3rd, 2022. He was one of twelve children, born to Thomas and Helena Welsh in the small town of Stewiacke, Nova Scotia on March 4th, 1935. He will be sorely missed by his son, Richard; daughter, Teresa (Kristo); grandsons, Nicholas, Benjamin and Sam; former spouse, Sandra Welsh; brother, Denny; sisters, Emma and Marg (Harry); many nieces and nephews, fellow servicemen, friends and neighbours that became friends.
Richard was married in 1959 to Sandra Welsh and together they had a daughter, Teresa in 1960 and a son, Richard, 14 months later. Having joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1958 and after a 3 year stint in Germany, the family was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, where he became part of the Fort Garry Horse later rebadged as The Lord Strathcona’s. He proudly served his country for 17 years retiring as a warrant officer in 1975. During this time he did 3 peacekeeping tours in Cyprus and witnessed many things that he had difficulty sharing to the day he passed. Still, he was so proud to serve.
Once retired from the army he enjoyed a variety of jobs and hobbies. He purchased H. Wernaer Holdings, a picture framing business, and enjoyed choosing and making just the right frame for his customers’ artwork or cherished photos. He then moved on to nurturing his love of mechanics and worked for “Motorways Trucking”. When his bones started to get achy he moved on to a job as a supervisor at Spalding Hardware, where he was able to lead and mentor a great work team. “Cruise Canada“ was his next stop, servicing RV vehicles and getting them ready for the next tourist to journey around the country he so loved.
Not quite ready to fully retire, he took a job managing a campsite in the Kananaskis. This was a perfect fit. He was able to live in his camperized van and spend most of his time outdoors. He had a consistent, new audience to share his stories, jokes, quirky sayings and vast knowledge of the outdoors with … even if he did make up what some of the animal tracks were.
Richard was a generous spirit. He was a great handyman always ready to help; a Jack of all trades. His loves were his family, the outdoors, fishing, boxing, restoring Volkswagen Beetles, hanging out in his garage with friends and neighbours, rigging things up, re-inventing ways to reuse something to keep it from being thrown out, singing really loudly and very off key, fish and chips, sharing his knowledge and making people laugh.
He is predeceased by his parents, Tom and Helena; brothers, Victor, Fred, Donnie, Tommy, Reg, Cyril, Ronnie and sister Lorraine.
Richard was one of a kind. He really will be missed more than words can say.
Come share in a Celebration of Richards Life on Saturday, July 2nd, 2022 at 11:00 am at The Royal Canadian Legion #285 (9202 Horton Rd. S.W. Calgary, Alberta).
To view and share photos, condolences and memories of Richard, please visit www.choicememorial.com.