
There are so many memories that I will forever cherish. I cannot thank you enough for being the best grandfather that I could have imagined!  Whether it was a trip to Frankenmuth or eating pizza in Jackson, it was a pleasure to spend time with you.  You always had a funny joke to tell and a smile on your face.  You were many things to many people in this world but I was lucky enough to be able to call you my Grandpa.  You will forever be missed grandpa!

With all  of my love,
Jenny



Because Charlie was one of my first friends, we shared many experiences along life's road.  When we were very young, we spent many hours playing with toy tractors (made from wood because all metal went for the war effort).  We also spent a lot of time collecting junk and taking it to a collection point, along with cooking fat from our mother's frying pans,  where it was then used for the war effort.    As we grew older we used to take Charlie's Dad's old 22 rifle, along with Fred (Charlies goat) and go out to the city dump and shoot rats. I don't remember why Fred had to go, but Charlie felt that it was necessary.  The dump care taker used to accuse Fred of eating all of his tin cans.  We  one time borrowed Charlie's Mother's maytag  washing machine motor and used it power a 2x6 board with wheels on.  It worked very well, going down hill, not so well up hill.  I could go on remembering experiences we had, but  I'll just say that the loss of my old friend saddens me deeply, and I'll miss him.


Donald (Donnie) Phillips 



Grandpa Welsh - 
Words can't express how much I will miss you.  From a little boy to now I have so many memories of our time together.  I LOVE all of your stories about the drop forge and looking at the pictures of the forge with you.  My love of steel came from you.  Also, my love of tractors and all the rides we took together and trips to the steam show.  I was lucky to grow up with you and grandma around.  Thank you for everything you did for me as a child.  Thank you for showing me about hard work.  Thank you for the memories that I will cherish forever.  I love you.


Leif 

Grandpa - 

In the short time I have known you, one thing that always stood out to me was your love for your family and friends.  I may not have seen you as often as I would of liked but I always enjoyed the time we spent together.  You will be missed at our breakfast's at Cracker Barrel and pizza from Andy's.  You always brought Gaige a little toy at all of our outings and he asks about you daily.  I will miss your stories and talking to you on the phone about Greta.  You will be missed by many!!!


Love Always,

Ann, Gaige, Gunnar and Greta Rolandson


How do you find the words to express a life long friendship? Charlie was a honorable man with a great sense of humor and a love for adventure.
He loved his family,  friends ,Miss Sadie and  his motorcycle. Over the years we enjoyed trips on and off the motorcycle, coffee and doughnut runs, dinners,
family, mutual friends, New Years eve parties,Sunday night rides to  talk over old times. We will always remember the good times and feel blessed to be
Charlie & Margaret's friends.
Loren & Jackie Shattuck

Dad,
There are many fun times I remember having with you.  You would take me to Spartan Football games, motorcycle rides (still remember the time when we were with Russell and we fell over in a fairly good size mud puddle).  I remember the time we went and picked up Barney in Toronto and how we enjoyed going to Henry Ford IMAX to see Polar Express.
You taught me many things about basic home maintenance and how to drive (often with Grandma McKie in the back seat).  I give 100% in my work as you taught me by example to do my best.
You will always be with us and last Saturday when I saw a man in a ball cap and plaid shirt walking on a bike trail I knew you were okay.
Love, Melissa 

Grandpa,

I was such a lucky little girl to have my grandpa just a couple miles away growing up. I always remember you being there in my life, so it’s difficult to pick just a few memories to share. 

I loved how you took me for rides on your tractor and in your old Model A. I loved how you always had popcorn and would share it with me. I loved how you joked with me, how you would sing “Bill Crogan’s Goat,” how you would ask me to pull your finger, and would playfully call me “blubber belly” or “blubber butt,” even though it infuriated Grandma! My favorite joke you told me was about the conversation between the stomach and the burp (I have since passed it along to my children). I felt so special that you were so proud of my service in the Air Force, that you’d wear the USAF hats I would bring you, and talk to anyone that would listen about your Airman granddaughter. I loved it when you would stop by the Golden Shear for a haircut when I worked there, and I’m so honored to have cut your hair for the last time during our visit in July. I loved that you called my daughter Celeste, “Flower,” as she had requested you do on a previous visit. I’m so glad you were able to meet my son Radley, and I love how he remembers you as “grandpa with the piggy-doggie.” I loved how you accepted my husband Dustin with open arms, even with all his tattoos, piercings, & colored hair. There won’t be an occasion when I pass a John Deere tractor, smell popcorn, see an older man riding a motorcycle, or attend a Mason parade that I won’t think of you. You were my favorite grandpa for how much you loved me and for how well you treated me. You will live on in my memories and in my children’s memories as long as we live. Thank you for being the best grandpa a girl could ask for. I love and miss you greatly. 

Love, 
Kirsten
(The baby of the grandchildren)

Dad, when I think of you, the one word that comes to mind is, “sacrifice”.  This is the way you lived your life.  You sacrificed your education to work and take care of your parents.  You worked hard and sacrificed for your family and we never wanted for anything, other than that horse I always wanted.  But that matters not.  What matters is the way you took care of mom and your three kids and later on your 6 grandkids.   Everyone that met you is a bit better off for having known you.  You were always there to help family and friends fix something.  You gave of yourself .  Thank you for giving me your work ethic and sense of humor.  I am going to miss sharing fun times and my Wire Fox Terriers with you.  I am going to miss waving at you as I drive your John Deere by the kitchen window.  I will miss having you at our Fourth of July picnics and Christmas Eve dinners and breakfasts at Cracker Barrel.   You left your mark on this world and it is a better place because of you.

I remember the home movies that Uncle Charlie took and how special the times were when we gathered together to watch them. He liked to tell jokes.  I also remember being at Grandpa and Grandma Welsh’s house  and seeing the “whizzer” that he bought to ride to work. Uncle Charlie was a very successful and valuable drop forge employee, as he had worked there many years and had a good position there. He faced many physical challenges.  Uncle Charlie will be sadly missed. 
Love your niece,
Marlene 
Daughter of sister, Ethel


       Dad,
Marcia & I were lucky to have done so many things with you over the years.  When I was young I used to watch the guys ride their motorcycles up & down the road and wanted one myself, used to dream of getting a scooter from the Sears or Montgomery Wards catalog, you told me to save my money and get a bike, finally in 1967 I got a used CL-160 Honda and in 1968 you got a CL-350 Honda and that started us on a long bunch of adventures for many years. We went to many tractor shows over the years even all the way out to Montana to the John Deere Two Cylinder Expo which we hauled our Goldwings out there and after the expo You & Mom, Marcia & I rode to Glacier National Park , Yellowstone, & The Tetons, what a thrill we had on that trip, I remember the Grizzly Bear that run in front of your bike and you had to hit the brakes so you didn't hit it. I remember the trip on our bikes to the Smokey Mountain National Park, to Nova Scotia, & riding around Lake Superior as just a few of the rides we went on with You & Mom. I learned a lot from You over the years and have very fond memories. I remember the shovel You gave Marcia & I for a wedding present, we have used that for over 45 years and was one of the best tools we ever got, you gave me others which I cherish and use today. You & Mom were good role models for Marcia & I, could not of had any better. I remember all the places we went with You to get something to eat, I could write a book about that. We will miss You and have so many fond memories that we will cherish for ever.  Love  you Dad, your son Brad

As the days grow faster, as we get older, it is ultimately a continuous time for reflection.  I wish I could slow the speed of time but cannot. 

Grandpa, I remember when you fixed my skateboard and how you called Chelsea Twinkle Toes, or the jokes. Home movies at holidays was probably one of my favorite things growing up. You were  busy many times in the garage or yard. All the rocking horses you made for all your grandchildren was very special. That can only come from someone with a big heart.  I will never forget the old car you used to have, or all the family gatherings. I really cherish all the pictures I have seen or hold on to myself.

Because of you and grandma, is why your kids and all your grand kids exist.  You were so filled with happiness any time any of your grand kids were present.  I know you had put together a ton of our family history, I have some myself I have obtained, but want to learn so much more! 

Me and Chris's wedding anniversary will forever be shared with you and grandmas wedding anniversary. Thank you for sharing that day forever with us. That is so very special. You and grandma have left a good model of what marriage looks like.

I feel SO blessed to of had you in my life for all the times I can recall, which were many. 

Charles Welsh was my father-in-law. I thank God for the way he led his family, especially his son who I fell in love with. I always admired him for his  character traits. He modeled respect, strong work ethics, honesty, love of God and family. He had much wisdom to share and a sense of humor to admire. That's one reason why his grandchildren all admired and respected him.
  He often told stories about the fun and antics that he experienced when he was growing up. I enjoyed those tales and also enjoyed the many times we spent in the basement family room watching old slides and movies (of coarse there was always popcorn).
   I'm remembering a time in 1971 at the Welsh household.  Brad and I had been dating for only a few weeks, and it was my first time having dinner at their house. Charlie grilled some burgers for dinner. When he went to put ketchup on his burger it wouldn't come out of the bottle, so he banged it upright on the table. It squirted all over the ceiling! We all laughed.....then he said "Don't tell Ma" (who happened to be out of the room at the time). We all snickered to ourselves when she came back in the room. I wasn't sure what to do since I was a guest but in a way it made me feel like part of the family right from the start.  I don't think Mom thought it funny when she found the mess a week later and had to scrape it off the ceiling.
  As the years went on we enjoyed many motorcycle trips; west to Yellowstone and east to Nova Scotia.
There were events to celebrate , holidays full of memories and grandchildren to enjoy.
  I have so many fond memories of being a part of this family. My kids may remember riding in the car together as we returned from an evening of pizza and mall walking. We all got a laugh as Charlie would start to sing one of his funny songs' such as "Bill Grogan's Goat".
  Charlie loved his family, and he especially loved his wife Margaret.
We will miss you

Marcia Welsh

I haven’t known Charlie for very long. About 16 years to be exact. I first met him Thanksgiving 2002, at Brad and Marcia’s house. I was dating Charlie’s grandson, Steve. Right away he asked me where I was from (Iowa) and how I ended up in Michigan. Once I told him I was from Iowa the tractor questions started. He continued to fill me in on tractors and how John Deere were the only tractors that matter. What I remember most about Charlie over the past 16 years is he loved his dogs (Barnie and Sadie), he loved his family and he was always wearing a flannel shirt or overalls. Every afternoon at family gatherings Charlie would doze off. He could sleep through anything. He was such a sweet person. He could strike up a conversation with anybody about anything. I am going to miss him. Rest in eternal peace Charlie. 

The greatest gift my grandfather gave me was the gift of his last words to me.  The morning of his passing, I was leaving Mason for a few hours to take care of some things at home.  I told him that we would take care of grandma and take care of each other, we would all be ok.  He didn't have to worry about leaving us.  I told him I loved him.  He said "I love you too".

Your life was a blessing, your memory a treasure, you are loved beyond words and missed beyond measure.

My gramps will be missed so much.  Given that I work in genetics, I am sure that my grandpa had a special gene I have never seen before...a popcorn-finding gene.  No matter where we went grandpa could find popcorn.  We would be walking along window shopping and he would suddenly disappear.  We would find him around the next corner, sitting on a bench, eating popcorn.  Where in the world did he find that at??  But it is not just what you love that is important when looking at an entire lifetime, but also what others love and remember about you, what they learn from you, what you give them to keep for their lifetime.  Other things that my gramps is: original chapstick, handkerchiefs (I could never understand this as a little kid, but once I got older I realized grandma took care of it), suspenders, hats (flat caps when I was little, baseball caps as time when on), riding in the Mason parade in the rumble seat of the model A, orange julius at Meridian mall, free dinners at Frankenmuth for your birthday in October (will now have to keep up this tradition!), Lincoln Blinkin' and Nod (3 power and light towers in Lansing, I thought he named them).  Grandpa of course will be remembered anytime a John Deere tractor is seen.  I had just received the call that he passed, and was rushing through Ann Arbor city streets to get gas to be able to get back to Mason.  While sitting at a traffic light, an older gentleman (actually reminded me of Grandpa's boss Doug who had visited grandpa the day before) crossed the street on a riding John Deere mower.  I couldn't help but to know that grandpa was telling me that he is somewhere riding a tractor, and he is ok, always with us.  I learned from him more than anything the importance of family.  You can see in any picture of gramps and his grandkids or great-grandkids how much he loved each of us, just by the smile on his face.

I have many fond memories of my Grandpa.  I went many places with him while growing up.  He used to tell me the story about how he took me for a motorcycle ride when I was very young and I fell asleep.  He said he thought his arm was going to fall off by the time he made it to his destination while he held on to me as he navigated his bike at the same time.  Then many years later I had the pleasure of riding my own motorcycle on short trips with him.  I always looked forward to the popcorn snack that would eventually be included in time spent with him.  I also enjoyed going to Bob Evans for breakfast with him when I would stay the night with him and Grandma.  I will miss him greatly.  I will miss his personality, his stories, and his knowledge.

Love,

Your Grandson (Steve)

I have many special memories of Uncle Charlie and would love to share a few of them.  
Uncle Charlie was ALWAYS up for an adventure, especially with anything involving wheels.  One day, he thought it would be fun to pull me on my bicycle attached to his 53 Chevy with a rope.  I’m not sure my mom, his sister, Maxine, thought it was such a good idea.  
Uncle Charlie also built me a large barn, silo and corn crib to play with, along with a wooden go cart, complete with a small gas engine. 
Riding motorcycles with him on Biker night was a weekly summer event.  He purchased a CanAm Spyder, which made it possible for him to continue riding even well into his 80’s.  He often drove way too slowly, but we were so glad he was along with us.  It was a great relief when we all arrived safely to our destination.  Our destination was always a good “out of the way” place to eat which made the ride worth the wait. 
Thank you, Uncle Charlie.  You enriched my life with your hand made gifts, and especially the time you spent with me.  I will miss you. 
Love, 
Russell

Charlie Welsh had two sisters and his sister, Arlene, had 6 boys, Gary, Gale, Bob, Jon, Doug and Don.  These boys loved Uncle Charlie dearly and had/have many special memories of fun times with him.  Gary, Jon and Doug want to share several of those memories.  
Two of the Welsh children were very musical.  Charlie sang beautifully along with playing the cornet.  Gary recalls as a 6 year old, visiting the church where Uncle Charlie played his cornet.  Gary remembers how proud he was of him. 
Uncle Charlie was also a photographer with quite a sense of humor.  Using his movie camera and a box, he made a “movie” showing each of these six boys  crawling out of the box.  He made it look like all six boys  must have been crammed in the box when each came out one at a time. It was hilarious!  
On a more serious note, the boys also recalled Uncle Charlie rebuilding the kitchen cupboards in their home after their fire.  Uncle Charlie was a skilled carpenter and built large two story barns for the Platt and Badgley boys.  
In more recent times, Gary recalls taking his mother to the July 4th parade in Mason to see Uncle Charlie ride  his big John Deere.  
Many fun times were had when Uncle Charlie was around.  We will miss you, Uncle Charlie!
Love,  
Gary, Jon and Doug Platt

Uncle Charlie was a VERY special Uncle.  I have many treasured memories starting way back to Friday nights at Duck Lake all the way to biker night dinners at Leslie Depot.  Over my lifetime,  he has helped me in so many ways:  my chauffeur for many, many  PT appointments after 3 knee replacements, teaching me how to replace my smoke detectors, cleaning out my plugged kitchen drain that poured tomato skins on him and tending my lawn mower battery to just name a few.  Having him to dinner at my house or making him broccoli cheese soup was such a pleasure.  I will greatly miss you Uncle Charlie.  Loved you loads!  Lynda 

I worked with Charlie at Federal Forge in the late 80's. He was always willing to teach you  what he knew. 
 He always had some funny  saying to describe any situation. (Round-to-its and belly button glasses come to mind.)
I learned a lot from him, and am saddened at his passing.
My thoughts and prayers now go out to the family of this exceptional man.


OBITUARY

Charles "Charlie" R. Welsh

October 25, 1932 – August 11, 2018

Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes

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