Carol Welsh, retired educator
Carol Welsh, 73, of Lewes, passed away peacefully Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Carol was born Dec. 16, 1950, in Vineland, N.J., daughter of the late Wolfgang and Eva (Berwin) Neisser. Carol grew up in Vineland, where she was a focused student and member of the Fighting Poultry Clan marching band.
Carol graduated from Vineland High School in 1969 and spent her college years in Philadelphia at Drexel University with high school classmate and best friend, the late Mia (Berlinsky) Cyter. Carol and Mia explored the city, and Carol began a lifelong pursuit of education. She would get her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Drexel University and later added an Ed.D. from the University of Delaware. After graduation, Carol worked as an accountant for a large CPA firm in Philadelphia and later as head of cost accounting at Sun Ship in Chester, Pa., where she met her future husband, the late Richard “Hal” Welsh.
Hal and Carol married in 1976 and were together for 43 years until Hal passed in 2020. Hal and Carol bought their first home in Wenonah, N.J., where they welcomed their first child, Rich, and then a second boy, Steve. She was active in the community and an advocate for education. Carol served on the local school board and was often an organizer of summer camps and school trips. With her friends, in 1985, Carol founded the Richwood Preschool in Ewan, N.J., which still operates.
Along the way, Carol decided that she wanted to pursue a career in higher education and worked as an instructor, full professor, and chair of the accounting and finance department at Rowan University. As a first-generation American, she was passionate about education and understood its power to uplift people. Carol retired from Rowan after 35 years in public education, but she stayed in touch with her colleagues and friends on social media, and loved hearing from her students.
Carol loved cooking, reading, gardening, and watching British comedies on PBS, and all The Big Bang Theory episodes. She was experimental in the kitchen and loved, in her words, “making a mess.” Carol’s creations were unique and tasty, and she was eager to create something new for her family. She was a dedicated and obsessive player of word games and puzzles, which she played with her friends and family, and Carol was always happy to share her Wordle scores by text message.
More than anything, Carol was a loving mother, and a compassionate and strong partner for Hal. Carol was a regular at Cape lacrosse and soccer games, and had a distinctive way of cheering on her boys when they did something well. She was blessed to be the grandmother of Mack and Rex, whom she loved and adored with all her heart, and played with every weekend.
Carol is survived by her sons, Rich (Jennifer) Welsh of Orlando, Fla., and Steve (Sloan) Welsh of Lewes; her beloved grandchildren, Mack and Rex; her brother, Mark (Penny) Neisser of Margate, N.J.; her nephew, Matthew (Roxanna) Neisser of Jupiter, Fla.; as well as many cousins in the U.S. and South America.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Monday, March 11, at Parsell Funeral Homes and Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Hwy., Lewes, where friends may visit beginning at 10 a.m. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions in Carol’s memory to Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, Improving Lives Affected by Cancer/The HEADstrong Foundation, or a charity of choice.
Visit Carol’s Memorial webpage at parsellfuneralhomes.com.
