SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
December 20, 2023
Sullivan’s Salvos 12/21/23
In this edition:
*Merry Christmas!
*Salvos Salutes Next Week!
*Bob Welsh
*Did You Know?
*Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday!
*Salvos Salutes Next Week!
We live in a GREAT county! Why? Because of the great people that live here! Unfortunately, we rarely do enough to acknowledge these wonderful people and the wonderful things they do.
That is why I really look forward to Salvos Salutes. It provides an opportunity to mention just a few of these cool people and the good things they do. I hope you look forward to it as well!
*Bob Welsh
Johnson County lost a true legend recently with the passing of the Reverend Bob Welsh. I had the honor and privilege of calling Bob a friend. I got to know him in the 1990s, and my affection for him grew the longer I knew him.
Bob’s resume is long. I copied the following from the wonderful obituary that his family did, and I added a few additional things.
Bob and his family moved to Iowa City in 1965 to serve as Minister of First Christian Church, where he served until his retirement in 1992.
Beyond his ministry work Bob was a leader of the Ecumenical movement. He served as Chair of the Council of Churches, the Ministerial Association and later the Ecumenical Consultation. He has been a life-long advocate of providing support to help all people within our community thrive. Rev. Welsh served as Chair of Iowa City’s first housing commission and was responsible for writing the original plan for Section 8 housing. That plan led to the ability to build Ecumenical Towers in downtown Iowa City that serves older adults to this day. (Note: it also built Mark IV, now Pheasant Ridge, Autumn Park, and Capital House. Hundreds of units!)
Bob was also a fierce advocate for housing fairness. Back in the 60s, he literally called out local landlords who refused to rent to African Americans and Jews, in some cases, shaming them right out of the rental property business. He always pushed for new units to be accessible.
Bob was the founder of the Volunteer Service Bureau, the Common Fund, and the Ecumenical Housing Corporation. He served on two state work groups that deal with welfare reform and the Governor’s Childcare and Early Education Task Force. Bob was also invited to serve on the White House Conference on Aging.
Bob was very involved in childcare, and worked on several childcare-related committees. He got involved in the child welfare system, and often found car seats, strollers, and other necessary equipment for families involved with DHS.
For over 20 years, he served as a leader of the Johnson County Nutrition Program that provided thousands of congregate and home-delivered meals to seniors. He served as Chair of the Johnson County Task Force on Aging, and chaired the Budget, Program and Planning Committee of the Heritage Area Agency on Aging. He also served as a Chaplain for the Iowa City Fire Department.
Bob and Carol Thompson started the Johnson County Livable Community for Successful Aging, which has really done a great job focusing the services required by Johnson County seniors.
Bob was a strong advocate for persons with disabilities, serving as Secretary of the SEATS Advisory Committee. Bob served for many years on the Johnson County MH/DD Planning Council, which planned services for people with disabilities in the county. Bob ALWAYS pushed the Supervisors to spend more money on these services, often waiting in uncomfortable silence for them to respond to his question – “You just heard about the needs. Why won’t you spend more?”
Throughout Bob’s decades long community advocacy work, he was selected as the recipient of many awards for his service. These include the “Senior of Distinction” in Iowa in 2001, the “Golden Rule Award” for his outstanding volunteer service, the “Heritage Visionary Award” by the Heritage Agency, the AARP “Andrus for Community Service,” the “Betty Grandquist Lifetime Achievement Award in Service to Older Iowans” and the “Advocate of the Year” by the Heritage Agency. He also received the “Isabel Turner Award for Outstanding Contributions to Human Rights” with the City of Iowa City Human Rights Commission. (I was proud to have nominated him for that.)
In 2016, they dedicated the “Bob Welsh Community Room” in his name at the Iowa City Senior Center. In 2019, he was recognized by The Johnson County Board of Supervisors with the “Bob Welsh Appreciation Day” for his decades of service to, and his dedication and love for the Johnson County community. That was a wonderful event – thanks to Sue Dvorsky for the great idea!
I want to tell a few Bob Welsh stories, because there are many. But first, I think it is important for people to understand that Bob was the kindest, most polite, most decent, most humble people anyone had ever met. Truly the model of how a Christian is supposed to behave.
Now, that said… Bob could be an UNBELIEVABLE pain in the butt! He was persistent; so persistent that it easily moved into annoying. Bob simply would not stop until he saw justice done. And if you were an obstacle, he would go over and/or around you.
Bob knew he could be a pain, so he tried to mitigate it. He always asked a lot of Jo Hogarty, who was the longtime secretary to the Board of Supervisors. So one day, Bob came in with a fancy new electric stapler. He gave it to Jo, and said, “I apologize for all the extra work I have caused you over the years.” Jo was SO touched; she repeated that story until she retired.
Another important thing to understand about Bob – he was willing to take some very controversial positions for a pastor. He stood – literally – with the LGBTQ+ community in the 80s while they fought for their rights. He wore his collar, so they knew who he represented. Bob literally said aloud to the LGBTQ+ community that God loved them, and undoubtedly made a number of people feel much better.
And Bob firmly respected a woman’s right to choose. I always chuckled, because Karen Kubby and Bob made such an “Odd Couple,” but they had a real friendship based on peace and justice, and Bob often showed up to demonstrate his support for the Emma Goldman Clinic. Bob really believed the admonition, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.”
A couple more Bob stories: As he aged, Bob had a very labored gait. He practically threw one leg up on a stair, then pulled himself up. One day, an employee in the Recorder’s Office gently offered to Bob that there was an elevator he could use. Bob smiled, and said, “That you, young lady. I may decide to use that when I get older.” Bob was about 90 at the time!
I remember Bob standing up in a packed house at the old Iowa City Public Library, addressing newly-elected Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack. Bob said something like, “I do very well financially. I live a comfortable life. Most of the people in this room do better than I. Why not tax us more, so Iowa can do more for those in need?” The room started clapping, and soon there was a standing ovation. Once the ovation ended, Vilsack looked over to Senator Bob Dvorsky and said something like, “Bob, you told me it was going to be different here. But I never expected higher taxes to get a standing ovation!” It was a great moment.
Bob was a very progressive person, and he supported like-minded candidates. The story of how Bob became a Democrat is a good one!
Bob moved to Iowa City in 1965. He had told the leadership at First Christian Church that his ministry would be very focused on helping those in need, and they agreed. So one of the first things Bob did was go down to the Courthouse and ask to speak to someone about human services. After getting passed to a couple different people, someone told him, “You should probably speak with Supervisor Harold Donnelly.” Bob said, “Fine. Is he available?” “No, he’s down at the bar.” Bob looked quizzically, and the employee said, “Donnelly’s Bar. Harold owns it. 3 blocks north.”
So Bob walked down to Donnelly’s, and asked to speak to Harold. Donnelly greeted him, and said, “Can I get you a drink, Pastor?” Bob said no, he wanted to talk about human services. Donnelly looked at Bob, and said, “Pastor, before we have that type of conversation, I need to know something. Are you a Democrat or a Republican?” Bob answered that he was actually an Independent. Donnelly smiled and said, “Well, you come back when you are registered as a Democrat, and we’ll talk.”
Bob thanked Donnelly, walked the 3 blocks back to the Courthouse, and registered as a Democrat. He took his brand-new voter registration card, and walked the 3 blocks back to the bar. Bob laid his voter registration card on the bar, and said, “I’m a registered Democrat, and I want to talk about human services in this county.”
Donnelly looked at the card, and smiled, and said, “I think you are going to do alright here, Pastor!” Within a year, Bob was chairing most human services-related committees in the county! There is that persistence!
Bob was well-known for hosting candidate forums, first with the church, and later with the AARP. Nothing bothered Bob more than a candidate who refused to attend a forum. Dave Leshtz noted to me that Bob would often try to arrange forums with Congressman Loebsack almost a year in advance. Obviously, staff could not commit to anything so far in the future. But Bob just kept pushing – for months – until he got a commitment.
I remember fondly in 2019 when we held “Bob Welsh Day” in Johnson County. We did a proclamation honoring Bob, and when it became my turn to talk, I said the following:
“I was hungry, and you fed me: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: I was naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you cared for me: I was in prison, and you visited me.”
“Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when were you hungry, and I fed thee? Or thirsty, and I gave you drink? When did I see thee as stranger, and take you in? Or naked, and clothed thee? When were you sick, or in prison, and I came unto thee?”
“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Nothing fits Bob better than the Gospel of Matthew. He lived it.
I will miss Bob. I miss him as an advocate, but I also miss him as a friend. He had an amazing impact in Johnson County, in ways big and small. RIP, Bob!
*DID YOU KNOW? Bob Welsh was a huge sports fan, especially basketball. He was particularly proud of the fact that his son Mark once held the City High all-time scoring record. Bob joked that the record lasted only a couple of years before it was broken by Clay Hargrave. “The Hargraves were very good people,” said Bob.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 3:43 PM
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