Welsh (Thompson), Julia Lorraine of Newcombville. Mom made it to 90! Born July 7, 1933, in Bridgewater to Lyda (Mailman) and Avard Thompson, she slipped away peacefully on March 6, 2024, after a day filled with pain, sadness, laughter, joy and gratitude.
Mom was inherently shy but thrived on the company of others, preferably in low numbers. She said, "It is good to have one on one time with people." She welcomed all into the house, especially all our friends growing up, who held her in high regard. Rarely did anyone leave without having had a conversation in the kitchen, a roll or cookie fresh from the oven, or some form of care package for the road.
Over the last 7 years, her great granddaughter, Ariel, rejuvenated Mom and gave her joy and a sense of hope. Yet it contributed to sadness, as she would reflect on relationships lost over the years. The loss of son, Michael, took a lot from Mom. This was compounded by the loss of son, Darrell, who she was particularly close to during his years at home and who supported her gardening efforts and was always doing something to make her work easier. In her words, all Mom wanted was to be loved. Don’t we all?
She is survived by sons, William, Greg, and David; daughter, Peggy; sisters, Shirley and Barbara; and brother John, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and all their families too numerous to mention, as well as chosen son and daughter, Roy Negus and May Higney. She often said she loved to laugh as John did when they were children but could not find amusement and laugh as readily and intensely as he could. She was predeceased by her parents; husband of 68 years, William (aka Carson) Welsh; sons, Michael and Darrell; and brothers, Victor and George.
It is with extreme gratitude that we thank Dr. Salomon and the caring and compassionate team of the Medical Surgery Unit for their efforts to provide patient-centered versus system-centered care while keeping our Mom and Dad together during the final stages of their journeys. Also, we would like to acknowledge and express special gratitude to Barbara Hayward, Susan and Paul for the time they spent with Mom over her last months.
Cremation has taken place and there will be no service at Mom’s request. Occasionally she questioned the existence of God and had more of a belief in something than not, but she did not want a service where people would come in and look at her and say, "They did a fine job doing her up. She looks good." Instead, connect with someone you haven’t seen in a while, talk to that stranger who looks lonely, or do as she was quick to do in the 70’s or early 80’s and consent to organ donation. Donations to South Shore Palliative Care, the Bridgewater Service Centre of the Canadian Red Cross, or Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières. On-line condolences may be made by visiting www.corkumfuneralhome.ca
