A. Philip Welch

Dr. A. Philip Welch, 95, of Satellite Beach, FL passed away on January 9, 2016 surrounded by loving family members.  Philip was born February 24, 1920 to Chester and Dorothy Welch in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Ceramic Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan.  While at the University, he met his wife, Nancy Florence Zinuch, as a fellow student.  They were married for 73 years.  After graduation, he proudly served as a commissioned officer in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve and fought in the North Atlantic on anti-submarine duty until World War II ended. His war service earned him the 1939-1945 Star, the Atlantic Star, the Canadian Volunteer Service medal with maple leaf bar, and the War Medal.

In 1945, he immigrated to the United States where he earned a Masters and a PhD degree in material sciences from Ohio State University.  He had a distinguished career in academia and industry.   In his academic career, he worked as a faculty member at the University of Florida and Iowa State University.  While living in Iowa, Dr. and Mrs. Welch were granted American citizenship.  While in the aerospace industry in California, he was a principle scientist.  His work as a scientist focused on the development of heat shields and ablative coatings for airplanes, spacecraft, and rocket engines. He held several patents related to this work. After retirement, he devoted much of his time to his grandchildren. He was a constant reader especially American and British history, largely about the war years.  A favorite hero was Winston Churchill.

He is survived by his wife Nancy, their children Deirdre Holden, Stephanie (James) Males, Richard (Diane) Welch, Rebecca (William) Munsell, his sister Barbara Drummond, 12 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. Four of the children were named after him.

For service information, please contact Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Melbourne, FL.

 Service Information