Maynard Arthur "Art" Welch

Maynard Arthur “Art” Welch, 90, passed away peacefully on Saturday, January 28, 2023 at Woodlands at Robinson Health and Rehabilitation Center in Ravenna.  He was born on April 11, 1932 in Bremen, Fairfield County, Ohio to the late O. Maynard and Treva H. (Feeback) Welch, sharing his birth date with his mother.

Art graduated from Delta High School in 1950.  He continued his education, graduating from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1954, with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education.  Then in 1963, he graduated from Bowling Green University with his master’s degree in Physical Education Administration.

His first teaching assignment was at Kunkle High School, Williams County, Ohio in 1954-1955, where he taught various high school classes and was the baseball and basketball coach.  The he moved to Fayette High School, Fulton County, Ohio teaching and coaching baseball and basketball in 1955, where he taught high school classes as well as being Principal.

After six years at Fayette, he moved to Parkway Local High School in Rockford, Mercer County, Ohio where he was head baseball and basketball coach and assistant football coach along with his teaching duties.

His love of sports began in high school, where he excelled in baseball and basketball.  He played basketball for the Miami Redskins.  During winters while teaching at Kunkle and Fayette, he played in the Toledo Basketball League.

The love of baseball continued by his playing shortstop in high school and continued playing 12 years with the five-time AA Champ, Toledo Dunbar Drilling, an AA baseball team in Toledo, where they won the State Championship in 1961.  One year, he was the leading scorer in the basketball league and the leading hitter in the baseball league.

After one year at Parkway, he was hired at Kent State University as a professor teaching physical education courses, assistant Basketball and Baseball Coach, later assuming the assistant Athletic Director duties and becoming the Head Baseball Coach, until his retirement in 1984.

After moving to Kent in 1963, he played with the Tramonte Black Label AA baseball team in Akron, where he was a seven-time All-Star, closing out his playing career in 1969 when he hit .414 with 17 homeruns.  He was inducted into the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.

His hobbies included yearly fishing trips to Canada with coaching friends and separate camping trips with family.  Camping with family became a way of life in the summer months, including many trips to Montana, Florida, Maine, Ohio and Canada.

After retirement, he took up bicycle riding and tennis with his Florida friends, after buying a mobile home in Sebring, Florida, where he and Glenda spent 30 years.

On August 16, 1953 he married his high school sweetheart Glenda Lou (Alspaugh) and they celebrated 69 years of marriage.  Art is survived by his loving wife; beloved daughters, Cynthia Holmes (Curt), Kristine McMillen (Dave) and his granddaughters, Jessica McMillen and Kayla McMillen.  He is also survived by his brother Larry Welch of Delta, Ohio and many nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Robert Welch.

No formal services are planned at this time.  Cremation will take place, with inurnment at a later date in Greenlawn Cemetery, Delta, Ohio.  The family would like to thank the nurses and aides at Woodlands at Robinson Health and Rehabilitation Center and Traditions Hospice for their loving care.  Also, a special thank you to Greg, Art’s roommate at Woodlands for his patience.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame, 4127 Bunting Trail, Stow, OH. 44224.

Services in care of Bissler and Sons Funeral Home and Crematory.