Bryant Welch

Posted on: Jan 03, 2024 at 6:34 PM

And our thoughts are with you, too, Tom. Much love to you and the girls.
Bryant

Posted on: Apr 22, 2022 at 9:22 AM

Leila Hoffman! Yes! That’s her. Thanks Bryant. She was such a nice lady and I remember her very fondly. Im sure she had a positive impact on many of her students. I wish there was a way to reach out to her and tell her thank you. But im not even sure if she is still living.

But thanks so much for the response and help. Your a good man Bryant.

Posted on: Apr 20, 2022 at 4:33 AM

Thanks, Gretchen. I love the site for the same reason. Ironically, the last contact I had with David was about that very issue. After the 50th I was hoping we could use the site in a little more systematic way to stay in contact. Given David's newspaper skills, I had reached out to him to talk about it. Just, for example, at the 50th, I heard a number of people lament the fact Bucky Keeney was not there. It occurred to me I would love to hear Bucky tell us about his life as he looks at it from age 75. Many people (unfortunately an ever higher percentage) may not be able to travel to reunions, but with technology we could interview or do whatever to find out what has happened to people and to connect with them now. Human lives are fascinating and the fact we experienced each other in those incredibly formative years is a wonderful baseline of experience of them. Alas, David responded positively, and I, I must confess, did not push it along. That may in fact be what prompted me to get off my duff and write my memory of him. Since I wrote it, I have read one of his obits that was captioned something like "Great Yankee Fan Passes Away." As boys David and I taunted each other mercilessly about our respective teams, his the Yankees and mine, the Reds. If I could see him now, I would similarly taunt him by saying, "Hey, David. If you are such a great newspaper guy, how do you explain that your obit begins with a blatant oxymoron like 'Great Yankee Fan.'" But, again, alas, I am too late!

Dave did not have a high profile at Fairmont, but he was an incredibly bright, sensitive guy with a wonderful sense of humor and keen eye for the ironic that made him uniquely charming for those of us lucky enough to know him. I spent most of the time I did with him in junior high playing what would now be called a fantasy baseball game that I had in part made up and in part plagiarized from some other such games. We both loved escaping into the refuge baseball could provide for young boys of that era. I saw him at the 50th and spoke with him for a while. He was a newspaper editor in a number of places including Burlington Vermont. He still had his love for baseball and the twinkle in his eye that I have over the years noticed in other really good newspaper people. I find it both rich and comforting to have this website at this stage of our lives. I did speak with another classmate who unbeknownst to me also knew him and saw him exactly the way I did. It feels like I should be able to articulate just why that is so wonderful and comforting, but it truly is.  Losing a presence like David's surely must be terribly difficult for his loved ones.

Warmest wishes to all.

Bryant Welch

 I did not know Sally well, but there was a very striking kindness about her that I always felt was quite rich and genuine. It felt like she was asking nothing back and just reflected who she truly was and how she felt about others. Condolences to her family and loved ones. And to all of us for losing this precious gift.

Bryant Welch

Posted on: Sep 15, 2017 at 12:52 PM