Dr. Thomas L. Welsh

1934 - 2022

Dr. Thomas (Tom) L Welsh
August 9, 1934 - December 3, 2022
McCall, Idaho - Tom Welsh passed away unexpectantly on December 3, 2022, at Roosevelt Lake in Arizona while on a camping/fishing trip with his daughter, Tanya, and her husband Eric. They were celebrating Tanya's birthday. He was 88 years young. He passed away doing the things he loved most.
Tom was one of nine children, born in Belle Fourche, South Dakota on August 9, 1934, to Jim and Oral Welsh. They migrated to Boise, Idaho, when he was a young boy.
Soon after graduating high school, he married Pat Ridenour and they had 4 children: Tina, Tommy, Tanya, and Treva. They divorced in 1973. Tom joined the Army so he could go to college using the GI Bill. After his service, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Fisheries Biology. He completed his PhD at the University of Idaho in 1995, one week before his 60th birthday! He moved his family to McCall, Idaho in 1966 where they lived in a house he built with his own hands. He still owns that house today, where he has spent the last few summers with his love, Beth.
Below are contributions to this obituary written by Tom's closest and dearest friends of nearly 60 years.
To: Tom Welsh's Family
From: David Neider
I have so many great memories of Tom. We first met at McCall in 1965 when I arrived there to work as a Regional Wildlife Biologist for Idaho Fish and Game. Tom introduced himself and told me that he was the Regional Fisheries Biologist. We hit it off and later that year we decided to volunteer for the Brundage Ski Patrol. We did that together until 1973 when I moved away to Coeur d Alene. While working as a fisheries biologist, he became very knowledgeable about the fisheries resources available in the McCall area. He studied many of the mountains, lakes, and implemented programs to improve the fishing in Upper Payette Lake by eliminating the undesirable species. Cascade Reservoir was another focus of his management practices. He greatly increased the Rainbow Trout population there. Several of the old-time fishermen of the area came to depend on Tom's knowledge, and of course, they contributed historical information to his knowledge. Tom resigned from his duties with Fish and Game when he was given an opportunity to get into ranching in the McCall area. When that ended, Tom attended the University of Idaho to pursue a doctorate degree. Then he worked as a fishier consultant. He advised and helped many landowners in New Meadows and Long Valley to establish private ponds for trout. We hunted for upland birds, deer, and elk. We took whitewater rafting trips together and Tom was good at reading the river; he knew how to navigate through the rapids. Tom was a bit of a dare devil and wasn't afraid to take a risk. On one trip, we swamped my little 16 ft. Hews Craft River Runner, at Burnt Creek below Hells Canyon Dam. We managed to get to the bank on the Idaho side and used our ice box to bail the water out of the boat. Tom navigated us back up through the rapids and when we got safely back to the boat launch, Tom stood up and shouted "hallelujah'" three times. The people on the shore looked at us curiously and then
started yelling too!
One year, we made a trip to Belize. We drove his Volkswagen, as far as Louisiana. He and I spelled each other off, one sleeping while the other one drove. We got there in 2 days. After arriving in New Orleans, it was a 3 hour Plane ride to Belize. We had quite an adventure hunting for Jaguars. Tom rode his motorcycle to Alaska twice. He kept riding that bike well into his eighties. At one time, he had a dog (Duchess) that would ride with him on his bike. He loved his dogs as much as he loved his friends. He
loved to plan camping trips or get-togethers with friends and family, and he was usually the life of the party! A favorite camping spot was Johnson Creek where he had done research on brookies and salmon.
He drove to our house more than once in his Porsche (that he put together with his own hands, and said "Here, you guys go for a ride". Tom never forgot about our friendship, even as we grew older. He never drove through our town without stopping, and sometimes he would stay overnight. He was a voracious reader and often picked up the latest book I was reading and read it from cover to cover before he left.
Tom was easy to entertain, and he knew how to enjoy the simple things in life and to make them important. I would say he was full of "wonder". He appreciated good food and was a good cook himself. He told us more than once about making tacos for his four kids while they gathered around the table in their tiny kitchen in McCall. That was a happy time for him. We loved his tacos too! Then, there was his green chili enchilada recipe.
Tom often marveled at his small beginnings as a child of The Depression, living on a farm in South Dakota, during the dust bowl. As an adult, he was privileged to experience world travel and adventures he said he never dreamed he would get to do. For those of us who were a part of Tom's life, it will never be the same without him. He was my best friend! I watched Tom go through many crises in his life, but he always seemed to make it safely to shore. Now, it's my prayer that he made it safely to heaven's shores and that I will see him again!
To: Tom Welsh's family
Maurice Hornocker
I met Tom in 1965 in McCall where he was the fish biologist in the Idaho Fish and Game department. We became good friends and enjoyed decades together sharing adventures from hunting and fishing to skiing and river rafting. Tom was one of those individuals you just enjoyed being around. He was always positive with a twinkle in his eye and a clever and humorous observation. He will be sorely missed by all who know him.
He retired from the fish and game department, but he continued his professional career as a consultant on various fisheries-oriented projects. He entered the university of Idaho graduate program seeking a PHD in fishery science. This degree was granted to him in 1994. He partnered with another fishery scientist, Don Chapman, in the consulting business for some time before opening his own business. He remained active professionally, frequently commenting on environmental issues even though he was
semi-retired.
Tom loved bird hunting, dirt bike riding, playing golf, camping & fishing, and spending time with his family.
Tom was able to Fly Fish on the Big Horn River in a drift boat last spring with Tanya's husband, Eric, Tanya's son, Tyler, and Eric's son Derek. He later said that might have been the best day of his life. He is now Fly Fishing in heaven with all those who have passed before him.
Words cannot describe how much he will be missed by family and friends. The world was a better and more interesting place with him in it.
He is survived by his two sisters, Val Morse & Vickie Bryne. Also, by his four children, Tina Yelton, Tommy Welsh, Tanya Stiegemeier and Treva Gilbert and all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The family will have a celebration of life ceremony next summer at his home in McCall, which was his very favorite place to be.