William L. Welsher

William L. Welsher, 83, of St. Joseph, went to be with our Lord on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2002. Our loving husband and father was surrounded by his family at home. Visitation will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, September 6, at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the funeral home. Burial will follow in Lincoln Township Cemetery, Stevensville. Memorials may be made to Hospice at Home. Condolence messages may be sent to the family guestbook at www.starks-menchinger.com Bill was born May 11, 1920, in Pontiac, Mich., the son of Delsey and Jessie (Asmus) Welsher. He graduated from Niles High School and served our country in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He started out as a tool and die maker, retiring from Clark Equipment Corp. as a Senior Manufacturing Engineer. In his younger years, Bill played the cornet in the Rex Paul Band. On May 10, 1941 he married Marjorie Patzer, who survives along with their six children. Their children include: Kenneth Welsher, Judith (David) Bischoff, Kathy (Robert) Thornton, Randall (Julia) Welsher, Cynthia (Hans) Ivy and Rebecca Busse. Bill also was blessed with eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His grandchildren include: Wayne Welsher, Deborah (David) Mueller, Christine (Scott) Knapp, Carolyn (Tim) Holly, Michelle Thornton, Jennifer Thornton, Jonathon Ivy and Matthew Welsher. His great-grandchildren include: Timothy Holly, Zachary Welsher, Ryan Holly, Sarah Thornton and Mike Cooke. Bill is survived by his two sisters ? Dorothy (John) Wegner and Barbara Smallwood, along with numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents; one daughter-in-law, Shirley Welsher; on sister, Margaret Bash; and one brother, Jack Welsher.