John Robert Welsh (May 18, 1901 – July 29, 1990) was an electric utilities executive and noted civic leader of northwest Louisiana in the mid-twentieth century. The

J. Robert Welsh Power Plant J. Robert Welsh Power Plant is a 1-gigawatt (1,056 MW), coal power plant located east of Pittsburg, Texas in Titus County, Texas. It is operated by SWEPCO, a subsidiary of AEP. The plant is named after J. Robert Welsh, a former President and B ...

is named in his honor. Welsh was born in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

, and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1924, after which he worked as a superintendent and chief engineer for the electrical utility (transmission line and substation) construction contractor L. E. Myers Company, until 1940. At that time, he went to work for

SWEPCO American Electric Power (AEP), (railcar reporting mark: AEPX) is a major investor-owned electric utility in the United States, delivering electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest gen ...

as a superintendent and vice president-general manager, remaining with the company until his retirement in 1971. Welsh served as SWEPCO President from 1954 to 1966, and board chairman from 1966 to 1971. He also served as president of the Southwest Atomic Energy Associates, as director of the Texas Atomic Energy Research Foundation (a Texas consortium of ten electrical power companies), and as a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Manufacturers, among numerous other roles at regional and national levels in the utilities industry. Welsh and his wife, Marcella, had seven children. One of their sons, John Robert "Jack" Welsh, was a Jesuit priest. Likewise, one of their five daughters, Marietta Welsh (1927 - 2017), was a Roman Catholic nun who served as the Mother Superior of the St. Vincent's convent and as the Superior General of the Daughters of the Cross, the Order which established 21 Catholic schools throughout north Louisiana, including St John Berchmans Catholic lementary and middleschool and the now defunct all-girl high school St. Vincent's Academy (1868 - 1988), both in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

. From 1969 to 1977, Welsh Sr., served as the first president of the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of Jesuit High School of Shreveport Corporation, which saved the all-male institution, founded in 1902 (now known as the coeducational

Loyola College Prep Loyola College Prep is a private Catholic coeducational high school in Shreveport, Louisiana, founded by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), but now operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shreveport. It is among the oldest functioning former Jesuit ...

), from closing by providing the necessary financial oversight after the Society of Jesus made the decision to pull out of the school. Welsh's son Jack had earlier attended this institution (as St. John's High School) and returned to teach there (from 1959 to 1976), subsequently serving as president and rector. J. Robert Welsh was also a board member of

Centenary College of Louisiana Centenary College of Louisiana is a private liberal arts college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi Rive ...

. The title of Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, one of the highest papal honors bestowed on a Roman Catholic lay person, was conferred on him in 1956 by Bishop Charles P. Greco, by direction of

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

in honor of Welsh's exemplary life of faith and service to the Church. Welsh was also very active in public affairs and received several secular awards from the local community in recognition of his municipal efforts. J. Robert Welsh died on July 29, 1990, at the age of 89.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Welsh, J. Robert People from Louisiana 1901 births 1990 deaths American chairpersons of corporations American Roman Catholics