Obituary of Joan H. Welch

The family of Joan Hotchkiss Welch of Penfield, New York, is saddened to announce her death on December 17, 2024, at the age of 87 years.

Joan Welch was born in Rochester, New York to John Francis and Fidelis McKenna Hotchkiss on November 4, 1937. She grew up in West Irondequoit, went to school at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Rochester and attended Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania. A devoted mother and wife, she enjoyed home decorating, cooking, bird watching, and collecting antiques. She threw a mean party, whether her annual Boxing Day parties, summer get-togethers on Fairview Crescent in West Irondequoit, or Christmas family gatherings. She was involved in the National Association for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) for several years and a lifelong volunteer with many causes. She worked alongside her father at his antiques and collectibles book publishing imprint, Hotchkiss House, and was the co-author, with her father, of Bottle Collecting. A deeply spiritual person, she was a member of Spiritus Christi Church in Rochester. In 2000 she moved from West Irondequoit to Penfield, New York.

Joan is survived by her husband, James G. (“Jerry”) Welch of Penfield, New York; children Christine Cassidy (Nan Kinney) of Hudson, New York, Kathleen Welch (Shelley Hearne) of Washington, D.C. and Johns Island, South Carolina, Brian Welch (Kristen Welch) of Zionsville, Indiana, Timothy Cassidy of Rochester, New York, and David Cassidy (Jess Cassidy) of Rochester, New York; sisters Katherine H. Gullo of Roswell, Georgia, and Ann Jaglowski of Granbury, Texas; grandchildren Matthew Welch of Fort Worth, Texas, Elizabeth Welch of Zionsville, Indiana, Mik Cassidy, Aidan Cassidy, and Connor Cassidy of Rochester, New York. She is preceded in death by her parents and by her son Michael Cassidy.

Services will be held in the spring of 2025.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Spiritus Christi Mental Health Center at scmentalhealth.org/giving. The family would like to thank the staff at the Village at Penfield for their professional and loving care.