John Francis Welsh aka “Jack” was born in Lexington, Kentucky on February 17, 1946. He was the first-born son of William Ralph Welsh and Mary “Peggy” Margaret (Cudahy) Welsh. William was a professional fundraiser for the catholic church which caused him to move frequently during Jack’s formative years. Sometimes moving could occur up to 8 times in a year, which made it difficult for jack to form roots and build relationships with others. The only constant thing in Jack’s life was his catholic education and spending lots of time in the back of the family car listening to the top 40 charts on his transistor radio. After William passed, Jack and Peggy came to New York in 1960 at the age of 14. They lived briefly with his Aunt Fran in East Rockaway, and then settled in Hewlett, where Jack graduated from high school in 1965.
Jack had an amazing gift for numbers, which led him to the banking industry as a career path. He worked for several banking institutions on Long Island, initially as a teller and then later as a manager. In 1994, he accepted a position at Dreyfus (now BNY Mellon) where he remained until his retirement in the fall of 2012. While working at Norstar bank in Hempstead, he met Sis. Judith McDonald who would come in on a consistent basis to bank as well as witness to Jack and invite him to church. He eventually accepted her invitation and attended his first service at Hempstead Assembly of God on Pentecost Sunday in 1993. Jack accepted the Lord as his personal savior and was baptized shortly thereafter. Jack served as a faithful member at Hempstead Assembly of God, first as a trustee and then later as head of the usher team. He was also a part of men’s ministry.
Jack and Karlene McKie met at Hempstead Assembly of God, where they later got engaged and married, planning their wedding in 8 months. The couple was married by Pastor Richard Brockway. To that union was born Elisha-Marie (1996) and John Isaiah (1998). Stephon Alan earl Beckford was 6 years old when the couple got married.
The Lord called Jack home on July 9th, 2022 at 3:13 pm. He is survived by his wife Karlene, stepson Stephon, daughter Elisha-Marie, son John Isaiah, daughter-in-law Veronica (Grullon) Welsh, granddaughter Lani Everleigh, sisters-in-law: Janice, Andrea, Michelle, Natasha, Janay and Treshia, brothers-in-law: Peter, Daulton, Stephen and Matthew, siblings: Mary Artery and Stephen Goldstein and a host of extended family and friends.
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