Lakeshore Public Schools Board of Education vice president Mike Welch has died. Superintendent Philip Freeman says Welch passed after battling a long illness. In a statement, Freeman says the district “will be forever grateful for the leadership, commitment, spirit, and inspiration Mike Welch provided to our schools and community.” Board president Jason Beckrow called Welch a “wonderful board colleague, student champion and consummate exemplar of servant leadership.”
Fellow board member Mark Whitwam had known Welch since high school. “It has been a true honor to serve on the school board with Mike. I always listened with interest to his perspective on various issues and learned a great deal from him,” said Whitwam in a statement. “I’ve lost a good friend and so has this board, school district, and community. He will be so dearly missed.”
Welch had been on the board since April 2005 and was a 1981 graduate of Lakeshore High School. He is survived by wife Lisa and children Kara and Carter, both of whom graduated from Lakeshore High School.
