WELD – Louise Merchant Welch Wilson, 85, died Friday, July 20, in Weld, at the home of her daughter and son-in-law.

She was born March 20, 1919, at her family home in East Wilton, the daughter of Jotham and Edna Rowe Merchant.

A 1938 graduate of Wilton Academy, Louise was the captain of the school’s field hockey team and the salutatorian of her senior class. In 1940, she married Harold L. Welch of Wilton and together they had two children, Meridith and Keith. Louise married Matthew Wilson in 1964, and became a loving stepmother to his seven children.

Louise was a licensed beautician and worked for 40 years with Hazel Shorey at Hazel’s Beauty Shop in Wilton. Always an active member of her community, Louise was a charter member and past president of the Wilton Historical Society, serving on its committee to restore the bell tower to Wilton Academy after it burned in 1980. She was a senior Girl Scout leader for eight years, a charter member and past president of the Woodland Wanderers Snowmobile Club, and a charter member of the Weld Historical Society. On July 3, Louise hosted the opening of the society’s summer schedule and prepared one of the exhibit rooms using artifacts and memorabilia from her own collection.

Louise attended Farmington State Normal School from 1938 to 1940, and, as a life-long learner, completed her Bachelor of Science degree in the honors program at the University of Maine at Farmington in 1995.

She was known, loved, and respected for her intellectual curiosity, her compassion for others, her respect for individual differences, and for her incredible zeal for life. She loved her poetry group that met monthly for the past four years. She was an avid camper and was proud that she had stayed at every state park in Maine. Louise enjoyed refinishing antiques and was interested in genealogy and local history. She traveled extensively. She was a gardener, a voracious reader, a poet, and a lover of the call of loons across the summer lake.

Louise was devoted to her family, and she doted on her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She leaves her daughter Meridith Minear and husband Richard of Weld, and her son Keith Welch and wife Janalee of Worcester, Mass.

She also leaves the following grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Sean Minear; Kelly, husband Michael Scott, and their children Jessie and Bailey Scott; Erin, husband Timothy Farnham, and their children Corrigan and Nathan Farnham; Brendan Minear, wife Kara Ibarguen, and their children Maya and Holly Ibarguen; Kyle Minear; Leigh Welch, fianc Doug Hodum, and Leigh’s daughter Adaline Lining; and Sarah Welch and her children Katherine and Maxwell Burns. Louise leaves one brother, Carrol Merchant, and his wife, Dorothy, of Fairbanks.

She also leaves the children of Matthew Wilson and their families: Rita Simpson, Donna Richard, Douglas Wilson, Carol Richards, Richard Wilson, Roberta O’Donnell, and Wendy Martin. Special extended family members and friends include Janice and Ed David, and Valerie and David Levy. A “mother” to many and a friend to all, Louise will be lovingly remembered by everyone who knew her.

Copy the Story Link