Lakeshore Public Schools Board VP Mike Welch Passes Away

mikewelch
mikewelch

Lakeshore Public Schools Board of Education vice president Mike Welch has died. Superintendent Philip Freeman says Welch passed after battling a long illness. In a statement, Freeman says the district “will be forever grateful for the leadership, commitment, spirit, and inspiration Mike Welch provided to our schools and community.” Board president Jason Beckrow called Welch a “wonderful board colleague, student champion and consummate exemplar of servant leadership.”

Fellow board member Mark Whitwam had known Welch since high school. “It has been a true honor to serve on the school board with Mike. I always listened with interest to his perspective on various issues and learned a great deal from him,” said Whitwam in a statement. “I’ve lost a good friend and so has this board, school district, and community. He will be so dearly missed.”

Welch had been on the board since April 2005 and was a 1981 graduate of Lakeshore High School. He is survived by wife Lisa and children Kara and Carter, both of whom graduated from Lakeshore High School.