Captain Edward "Ed" Welch

Captain Edward “Ed” Welch, loving husband, father, grandfather and loyal friend of many, passed away peacefully at his home after a heroic struggle with cancer on Monday, January 6, 2020, at the age of 69. Capt. Ed was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on September 22, 1950. He is preceded in death by his loving parents, Thadeus and Grace Welch, and several siblings. He is the beloved husband of 35 years of Florence Brewer Welch. He is the loving father of Derek Edward Welch, and Victoria Welch Short (Tom). He is the devoted grandfather “Cappy” of Eleanor Grace Short. He is the cherished brother of Howard Welch (Sue), Veronica Favre (Dave), Patricia Ament, and David Welch. He is the beloved son-in-law of Sylvia L. Brewer. Ed is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, other family and friends. Captain Edward Welch attended the University of New Orleans, Delgado Business College, the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies, the Seamen's Church Institute (NY/TX), Page Navigation Institute, and Texas A&M. His professional qualifications included Master, Any Gross Tons Upon Oceans. In addition, his license was endorsed as First Class Pilot for over 200 nautical miles of the Mississippi River in Louisiana, as well as Prince William Sound Alaska (between Hinchinbrook and Rocky Point), and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) Marine Terminal and Safety Fairway. For the first decade of his licensed sea-going career, Captain Welch was affiliated with Masters, Mates, & Pilots where he worked with numerous shipping companies travelling the world over many times. These companies included Keystone Shipping, Victory Carriers, LA Sulphur Carriers, Pacific Far East Lines, Joshua Hendy Tankers International, Lykes Brothers Steamship Company, Ogden Marine, and finally, Maritime Overseas Corporation where Captain Welch held his first Command of large vessels (>75,000 DWT) at a very young age. Following his approximately two decades sailing the world, Captain Welch became a Pilot/Mooring Master at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port located in the US Gulf of Mexico close offshore to Louisiana. As the only deepwater VLCC/ULCC (Very/Ultra Large Crude Carrier) tanker facility in the United States, LOOP has been a prominent crude-oil import facility for over 3 decades serving the nation’s energy needs and requirements, and just within the last couple of years has also become a first-to-market deepwater crude-oil export facility. LOOP imported over 10 billion barrels of crude oil during Captain Welch’s tenure, and after 31 years of service he retired in 2019 as Senior/Chief Pilot. In addition to his primary job as a Pilot/Mooring Master, Captain Welch worked periodically as a USCG certified VLCC/ULCC Shiphandling Instructor at the Seaman’s Church Institute, Houston TX, as well as a Single Point Buoy (SPM) Consultant, a maritime Pollution & Safety Advisor (PSA), and as a STS (Ship-to-Ship) Lightering Master. Services were held on Saturday, January 11, 2020. The family welcomes donations to the New Orleans Order of Sister Servants of Mary. Mothe Funeral Home, 2100 Westbank Expressway, Harvey, LA was in charge of arrangements.