Sharon Anne Welsh

Sharon Anne Welsh, mother, grandmother, nurse, educator, and friend, died on Monday, March 2, 2026, at Oasis at Dodge Park in Worcester from complications of Parkinson's Disease.
She was 77.

She leaves her devoted daughter, Ellen (Grimaldi) Miller, beloved granddaughter Nora Miller, her son-in-law John Conron, her brother John J. Welsh, Jr. and his wife Jeanne, and four nieces Cara, Shauna, Alyssa Mikayla and their families and her step-grandsons John and Joseph Conron. She was predeceased by her cherished grandson, Nolan Miller, in 2023.

She was born in Worcester on October 21,1948 to John J. Welsh and Mary I. (Tangney) Welsh. After graduating from Ascension Central Catholic High School and then Worcester City Hospital School of Nursing in 1969, she earned advanced nursing degrees at Worcester State University.

Throughout her long career in nursing, first as a staff nurse and in-service coordinator at Worcester City Hospital, and then as a nursing supervisor at UMass Medical Center, she was an innovator and leader in curriculum development and training for paramedics, emergency nurses, and EMTs, especially in advanced cardiac life support. She also taught at Quinsigamond Community College and Worcester State.

She was a pioneer of sorts, becoming one of the original flight nurses with New England Life Flight, rising to the position of Chief Flight Nurse. She had been instrumental in implementing the Worcester EMS (Emergency Medical Systems) ambulance services and advised police, fire, civil defense, and other agencies in the requirements of Massachusetts first responder training law.

She loved every moment she spent by the beach at her summer home in Wells, Maine and especially enjoyed her work through the years with her many friends in the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians on their annual Irish festival.

She was smart, brave, and very funny; she lit up every room she entered. She loved her daughter Ellen, to whom she often referred as her "favorite daughter" even though she was her only child, and her grandchildren fiercely.

Calling hours will be at Athy Memorial Home, 111 Lancaster St., Worcester on Thursday, March 12, from 4 to 7 p.m. There will be a Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, March 13 at 10 a.m., in St. John's Church, 44 Temple St., Worcester.

In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to St. John's Food for the Poor, 44 Temple St., Worcester, MA 01604.