Ira David Welch

Ira David Welch was born in Memphis, Tennessee where he graduated from Messick High School. After working for a few years he enlisted in the United States Army, spent a tour of duty in Germany and was discharged as a sergeant. He entered college at what was then Colorado State College and earned a BA and an MA degree before becoming a teacher. He taught post-secondary students and also spent a couple of years working with pre-school students aged 36 months old. He says jokingly that he would have continued in that job except he discovered they pay you according to the height of your students. He earned his doctorate degree at the University of Florida and began a near 40 year career in higher education. All during that time he married, Marie, and they have two children - now grown men with families of their own - David, who married Shauna Moser who now have one son, Aiden; Daniel, who married Alison Hatch who have one daughter, Paige and one son, Ryan. He is now a Professor Emeritus from the University of Northern Colorado. After nearly 30 years teaching at the university level he moved into administration and retired a second time as the Dean of the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Now 17 years after retirement he is content playing pickleball, golf and writing children's books with son Dan. Now 83 years of age, he felt the need to publish one more book, Thorns Have Roses, a collection of reflections of life, issues, things learned from a long life.