Herbert Welch Obituary

              Ohio Wesleyan j- Fifth President Dies at Age 106
Bishop Herbert Welch, Presi¬ dent of'Ohio Wesleyan from 1905- 16, died Good Friday evening, April 4, at his home in New York City. Patriarch of the United Methodist Church and the oldest bishop of any church in the world, he had celebrated his 106th birth¬ day last Nov. 7. Bishop Welch was a man of intellectual and physical vigor well into his 105th year and had been regular in attendance at Christ Church, Methodist, New York City, until early m 1968. In failing health since surgery and a fall in 1968, he had not been able to leave his home since last May.
His last trip was in the summer of 1967 when at 104 he went to Expo '67 in Montreal and then to
San Francisco where he participat¬ ed in a service of dedication for twin great-great-grand-daughters. He made his last public appearance the following November at Christ Methodist Church in New Roch¬ elle, N. Y., to dedicate stained glass windows in commemoration of the "Korean Creed", one of four Af¬ firmations of Faith in the Meth¬ odist Book of Worship. The Korean Creed was written principally by Bishop Welch who was on episco¬ pal assignment in Korea in 1930 when the Korean Methodist Church became autonomous.
He served in the episcopacy for 53 years, longer than any other Methodist bishop in history, and had been bishop in Korea, China,
Japan, and India, and in Pittsburgh and Boston in the U.S. The oldest alumnus of any American college at the time of his death, Bishop Welch was a graduate of Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, Wesleyan University (Conn.), and Drew Uni¬ versity. He was the recipient of many honors, including honorary degrees from 10 colleges and uni¬ versities; Ohio Wesleyan's Welch Hall is named for him. Bishop Welch is survived by two daugh¬ ters, Mrs. Anthony F. Blanks (Doro¬ thy), '13, Carmel, Calif., and Miss Eleanor Welch, '23, New York City; a grandson, three great-grandsons, three great-great-granddaughters, three nieces, and two nephews.
At the request of the editors, Mrs. Medary A. Prentiss (Sally Evans), '30, former editor of The Methodist Woman, wrote the following ac¬ count of Bishop Welch's funeral for the Magazine:
"He was my hero—and I loved him." These words closed the mov¬ ing tribute given by Dr. Ralph W. Sockman, '11, at the Service of Re¬ membrance and Thanksgiving for Bishop Herbert Welch held in Christ Church, Methodist, New York City, on April 7. Tracing the personal influence on his life of beloved "Proxy Welch" from his freshman days at Ohio Wesleyan, Dr. Sockman said: "He demon¬ strated a style of living which gentlemen everywhere observed . . . He created a climate of mutual re¬ spect felt by administrators, fac¬ ulty and students alike . . . He was a remarkable combination of theo¬ logical vigor and social reform."
More recently, countless persons who have known and loved Bishop Welch through the years have in-
June, 1969