Nita Welch

Nita Marie (Melsh) Welch 70, died in her Mount Vernon home, Monday November 20, 2007 from complication of COPD. Memorial services 1:00 p.m., Friday at Morgan Funeral and Cremation Choices, Mount Vernon Chapel, where the family will receive friends from noon until time of service. Burial in Lisbon Cemetery. Nita is survived by her children; Michael (Cathy) of Cedar Rapids, Julie (Jim) Pierce of Belle Plaine, Denise (Jeff) Wayland of St. Louis, Missouri, and Stephen (Beth) of Chicago, Illinois. "Nana" is also survived by Megan, Hannah, Joseph, and Ellen Welch, David, William, and Kathryn Pierce, and Jennifer and Lindsay Wayland. Preceding Nita in death were her parents. Nita was born March 3, 1937, in Cedar Rapids, the daughter of Stanley and Viola Floyd Melsh. She graduated from McKinley High School in 1953 and graduated as a Dental Hygienist in 1957 from the University of Iowa. She married R. Dean Welch in 1957 in Cedar Rapids. She raised family in Jacksonville, Illinois from 1959 until moving to Mount Vernon after her divorce in 1992. Nita spent the rest of her life living in the home built by her great grandfather and caring for her mother until her death in 2002. Nita was able to attend high school in Finland for one semester as a foreign exchange student with American Field Service (AFS). She was active in Rainbow for Girls and Eastern Star, serving as Grand Worthy Advisor of Iowa during her college years. Nita was an active member of P.E.O., in Jacksonville. Nita worked for many years in the Admissions Office for Illinois College in Jacksonville before retiring in 1991. Her greatest joy was her family and grandchildren. A memorial fund has been established.