Ian Welshman

WELSHMAN, Ian
of Portage, Michigan Ian Welshman, 65, of Portage, died Sunday, June 3, at Rose Arbor Hospice Facility in Kalamazoo. He was born November 4, 1946 in Newark, NJ, the son of John and Virginia Hutchinson Welshman. He grew up in Kearny, NJ and attended Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where he met Nancy McNeeley, whom he married on June 5, 1968. Even though he was a native of New Jersey, Ian had grown fond of Iowa during his undergraduate years and chose to attend graduate school at the University of Iowa, where he graduated with a Master's degree in Zoology in 1971. He was then employed as a research assistant in the Department of Hematology at the University of Iowa Medical School, until 1981 when he was hired by the Upjohn Company. He worked in several departments, finishing his career as a research assistant in Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics. Ian loved music and was a fine singer. He shared his talents in the choir at Milwood United Methodist Church, where he was a longtime member of the Chancel Choir and Chair of the Fine Arts Committee for 19 years. He was preceded in death by his parents and three aunts. Surviving are his wife, Nancy; two daughters, Emily Daniel Kirschner and Sarah Jonathan Zimmerman; two granddaughters, Madeleine and Eve Kirschner; and a brother, Nelson Welshman. He was also looking forward to the imminent birth of two more grandchildren, fraternal twins, to Emily and Daniel. A Memorial Celebration service will be held on Saturday, June 9, 2012 in the Milwood United Methodist Church, 3919 Portage Road, at 11:00 AM, with Rev. Kennetha Bigham-Tsai officiating. A visitation will begin at 9:00 AM at the church until service time. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Milwood United Methodist Church, where they will be divided between the Nursing Ministry and the Special Music Fund. Arrangements by the Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Memorial Chapel, 622 S. Burdick St.