Miller A. Welch Sr.

WELCH Miller A. Sr., 93, husband for 33 years of Mary C. Welch, died at home on Aug. 25, 2006. He was born September 24, 1912 on the family farm near West Lafayette, IN to the late Frank and Camilla Welch. He is survived by his brother, Charles B. Welch of Sun City, AZ, his children, Miller A. Welch, Jr., (Patricia), Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Elizabeth Coco (Dale), Cameron Park, CA, two stepchildren, Randall M. Overstreet, (Darlene), Jacksonville, FL, Judge Rebecca M. Overstreet, (Jerry L. Wright), Lexington, KY. Also surviving are three grandchildren, three stepgrandchildren, and four step great-grandchildren. Mr. Welch was educated at West Lafayette schools, Purdue University, and Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music in Indianapolis, IN. He was a member of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity at Purdue. Mr. Welch's career included music, radio broadcasting, real estate development, and insurance. His childhood on the farm inspired a great love for the outdoors and generated a life-long interest in conservation and sportsmen's affairs. In 1927, Mr. Welch made his radio broadcast appearance on the Purdue station, WBAA. He formed his own orchestra and won the 1933 Big Ten Dance Orchestra Contest sponsored by Big Ten Universities and judged by the Columbia Artist Bureau. He later went on the road with his orchestra, playing throughout the East and broadcasting from various ballrooms and supper clubs. In the summer of 1934, he brought his band to the Iroquois Gardens in Louisville, KY where they broadcast nightly on WHAS. In 1935, following another tour in the east, he came to Lexington's popular dance and supper club, Springhurst Country Club. After eleven months at Springhurst, Mr. Welch was invited to meet Gilmore and Lindsay Nunn; shortly after they purchased the Lexington Herald Newspaper and WLAP radio station. He retired from music and joined WLAP in 1936 as a salesman and announcer. His career at WLAP progressed to sales manager then general manager until the station was sold to Community Broadcasting Company in 1957. The sale included a dormant television license for Channel 27, which eventually became WKYT, where Mr. Welch worked until 1958. Mr. Welch left broadcasting to pursue a career in commercial real estate with Davis T. Bohon. The two were the original exclusive leasing agents for Idle Hour and Gardenside shopping centers. In 1961, he became a partner in Carpenter Warren Insurance Agency, where he stayed until his retirement in 1978. Mr. Welch was active in many professional and civic organizations, including Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, Lexington Junior Chamber of Commerce, Salesmen's Club, and Thoroughbred Club of America. He was the founder of the Bluegrass Sportsmen's League and served as its first president in 1945. He established Kentucky's first hunting preserve in Scott County in 1953. He was appointed to the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission by Governor Combs in 1960. While serving, he helped secure the 1,800 acre Central Kentucky Wildlife Area in Madison County and was instrumental in establishing the Muskie fisheries program at Cave Run Lake. He was a former Vice President of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen and was awarded their coveted "Sportsman of the Year" award in 1966. Mr. Welch was a member of Southern Hills United Methodist Church. Services will be held 2 p.m., Tue at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home on Harrodsburg Road and will be officiated by Dr. William M. Moore and Reverend Dennis Burrows of Southern Hills United Methodist Church and Chaplain John Rudd of Hospice of the Bluegrass and Bluegrass Sportsmen's League. Visitation will be 12:30 p.m. until the hour of service Tue at the funeral home. Entombment will be at Lexington Cemetery Mausoleum. Pallbearers will be Greg Howard, Phil McFadden, Dewey Mullins, John Thomas, Al Borne, and Kevin Wright. Honorary pallbearers will be officers and members of the Bluegrass Sportsmen's League. The family requests memorials to Hospice of the Bluegrass, 2312 Alexandria Drive, Lexington, KY 40504.