David J. Welsh

KLEMME – David J. Welsh, 76, of Klemme passed away Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at his home. A memorial mass will be held 10:30 A.M., Monday, January 25, 2021 at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Garner with Rev. Fr. Andrew Marr officiating.  Inurnment will be at St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery with military rites by the Klemme American Legion.  The service will be livestreamed on the Cataldo Funeral Home Facebook page beginning at 10:25 A.M. 

A memorial visitation will be held from 3 to 5 P.M., Sunday, January 24, 2021 at St. Boniface Catholic Church with a rosary at 2:30 P.M.  Masks are required and social distancing guidelines will be followed.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family in care of Marcy Barkema 1835 Hwy. 69, Klemme, IA  50449.  Cataldo Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.  

David Joseph Welsh, the son of Emmet and Blanche (Walsh) Welsh, was born February 18, 1944 in Huron, South Dakota. He attended DavenHill country school and graduated from Bancroft High School in 1962. David studied at South Dakota State University, worked on the family farm and joined the Army National Guard until he was honorably discharged in 1971.  On April 20, 1968 David and Sandra Kretchmer were married in Iroquois, SD.  They lived on the family farm near Carpenter, SD.   David began working for Farmland Industries where career transfers took the family to Nebraska and Minnesota before settling in Garner, IA in 1977.   He also worked as the maintenance manager for Best Western in Clear Lake before officially retiring in 2010.   

David was active in his community  as president of the Garner Chamber of Commerce in 1986, a member of the Garner Volunteer Ambulance Service and a former city council member in Klemme.  He was an active member of St. Boniface Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus and the American Legion in Klemme.  

He was a devoted father and grandfather and had a deep conviction in his faith. He enjoyed spending time with his family, teaching his grandkids to fix things, tinkering with his many projects in his garage, and he always had a joke and story to tell.  He enjoyed coffee with the locals and Molly B’s Polka was always on TV.  

He will be greatly missed and remembered by his four children, Tammy (David) Maire, Cambridge, IA, Ryan (Annie) Welsh, Sioux Falls, SD, Marcy (Mike) Barkema, Klemme and Rich (Clarissa) Welsh, Garner, IA; 11 grandchildren, Tyler, Lucas and Madison Maire, Brinlee, Emmett and Graham Welsh, Brook and Blake Barkema, Alayna, Valarie and Evan Welsh; siblings, twin sister Diana (Joseph) Koenig, Kathryn (Albert) Piper, Mary Eileen Welsh, Rose Tyrrell, Terry Welsh, Regina (Richard) McCarthy and many nieces and nephews.  

He was preceded in death by his wife, Sandra (Kretchmer) Welsh; parents Emmett and Blanche Welsh; and brothers, Mike and Dick Welsh; brothers-in-law, Tom Tyrrell and Keith Zell; and sisters-in-law, Ann Welsh, JoAnn Kretchmer and Donna Zell.