Donald Erroll Welsh

Born in Washington D.C. on January 15, 1942 to Mildred Mae (Nichol) and Robert Everett Welsh, Don arrived and his big brother Willard was ready for many adventures together. The family moved to Puerto Rico, then Washington state—where their other adventure partner and sister Elaine was born—and then to Arvada and later Lakewood, Colorado.

In 1957, they moved to a ranch in the mountains outside of Central City and Blackhawk. Concerned about being the “new kids,” Don and Wil promised they would have each other’s backs at Gilpin County High. However, the three Welsh kids were warmly welcomed by the community. The family attended St. James Methodist Church and sang in the choir. Don soon became a star basketball player for the high school team, which went to the state finals. In 1959, he was nicknamed “Big Don” by teammates on the school’s first 8-man football team. In 1960, he graduated as Valedictorian in a class of 13.

Don received a basketball scholarship to Denver University. After his first year, he transferred to the University of Colorado, where he and Wil were dormmates. Don returned to Central City and partnered with Wil to open a gift shop. He reconnected with Diane Smith, whom he’d met in the mailroom at DU, and they married in August 1964.

Don worked for Safeway and was offered a management position, but he wanted to get into radio, so he turned it down. The couple moved to beautiful Carmel, California, and over the next few years lived in several different homes throughout Southern California. Don’s first job in radio was at KWOW, a country music station near Pomona, California, where he was the morning drive DJ.

His mother died in 1965, the same year their daughter Laura was born. Don and Diane moved back to Colorado, where he worked in radio and had a home recording studio. They welcomed daughters Julie in 1968 and Jennifer in 1972.

In the early 1970s, he was hired at KLOK-AM in San Jose, California. He’d bring records home for his daughters and asked for their opinions, which gave them an early appreciation for popular music. He was a fun dad who spent as much time as possible with his kids, getting involved with father-daughter organizations, spending time at the beach, singing them to sleep with his beloved guitar, and packing them into the back of the family station wagon for outings to the drive-in movie theater.

Don and Diane cherished their daughters but they also wanted a son. In 1974 they started the adoption application process and in January, 1976 their son Marc officially fulfilled that dream.

Don left KLOK to join KXRX, another AM radio station in San Jose. He was also a voice announcer for KNTV 11 and his voice was recognized all over the Bay Area. He emceed firefighters’ annual charity fundraisers, where he met many famous Motown singers and celebrity performers. As program director and on-air personality at KXRX, he hosted a live Sunday evening interview talk show called Religion on the Line.

He was always curious about cultural traditions and the beliefs and practices that connect us with a higher power. It was when he interviewed Dr. Robert Scott, a Religious Science minister in San Jose, that he started studying Religious Science and eventually attended ministerial school.

He was ordained in 1991 and helped thousands over the years through ministering in Santa Cruz, Ventura, Miami, Lancaster, Templeton, on the road through an RV ministry Spirit on Wheels, and finally in the Inland Empire, San Bernadino. He also hosted a local access television show titled Miracles.

His father died in March, 2005 and Diane died in April, 2006, which devastated him. He had recently received a Doctorate of Divinity from the Holmes Institute a few months prior to her passing. It was a ceremony she insisted he attend even though she was not well enough to join him. As was his nature, Dr. Don looked for the positive in his life rather than focusing on grief. He began dating his assistant minister, Reverend LaVonne Andrews. They married in August 2006 and co-ministered in Templeton, on the road from their RV, and San Bernadino until her death in 2018.

Just prior to the pandemic, Don moved to Florida to live with his daughter Laura and her husband. He loved being able to participate by Zoom in San Bernadino church services under Reverend Irma Forward’s direction.

He described himself as “a minister of a practical and positive teaching.” He taught many classes and workshops, wrote articles and self-published four metaphysical books. He was an avid reader, writer, friend, disc golfer, and seeker. His siblings, Willard (Jo) Welsh, and Dr. Elaine (David) Joslyn, will miss him greatly, as will his children and their spouses: Laura (Chris) Kepner, Julie (Greg) White, Jennifer (Ulrich) Tombuelt, and Marc (Shannon) Welsh. Donald is also survived by eleven grandchildren (including step) and two step great-grandsons, a niece, nephews, and many friends.

If you knew Don, you knew his eagerness to be part of it all, his kindness, and his quiet partnering to improve life for others over himself without resentment or expectation. If you would like to honor him, do so by spending time with someone you love, meditating in appreciation of your own life, eating a favorite meal (with the dessert!), or if you feel moved to remember him through a financial contribution, please consider The Michael J. Fox Foundation, or the Center for Spiritual Living Inland Empire in San Bernadino, California.

The family will gather privately at a later date to spread his ashes in the Colorado mountains.