Obituary

Dr. Janet Gail Boggess Welch passed away on September 6, 2025. She died peacefully after experiencing declining health. She was born on May 11, 1937, at the Mountain State Hospital in Charleston, West Virginia. She grew up in Sissonville with her parents, Lud and Nora Boggess, and her younger brother, Gary. Her roots in Kanawha and Jackson County go back to Daniel Boone days and Sissonville is named after one of her great grandfathers. She graduated from Sissonville High School and earned her B.A. in English (with highest honors) from West Virginia Wesleyan College. A graduate fellowship took her to the Maryland/Washington, D.C. area where she earned her M.A. and later a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. She spent some years working in public relations and as an editor in Washington and Florida, including serving as Public Relations Director for Tampa General Hospital and as an Editor for the American Political Science Association. She returned to West Virginia to begin her college teaching career at Wesleyan, her alma mater. Many of her students are now active professionals in the state and report that she was the toughest professor they had in their college days. They also add that they know how to write today far better than their peers as a result of her efforts.

Although she served on civic boards in the area, including the West Virginia Judicial Review Board, she was best known as the smiling First Lady at the many University of Charleston events, including athletic events. She was lauded on campus for her work in helping to transform the physical appearance of the campus. Her touch was seen everywhere from landscaping to refurbished rooms and public areas filled with photos and donated art. She conceived of and established the West Virginia Women Artists Gallery at UC, housing 160 individual paintings by women. The gallery is a hub of daily activity serving both the campus and the community with many special activities and events occurring there. It is the only gallery of its kind in the country according to the director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Nora, who lived to be 101 years of age, and by her brother, Gary. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Ed Welch, and by her West Virginia cousins. She enjoyed traveling, reading, and the pursuit of excellence in all she did. She will be greatly missed, but her transforming works will long serve the University and the community of Charleston.

Many thanks to Dr. Katherine Callaway and her team at Hospice and to Janet’s helpful caregivers — Shatima Lewis, Maxine Tanner, Shatesha Rice, Sade Rice, and Jessica Carter.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the University of Charleston.

A service celebrating her life will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 11, 2025, in the Rotunda (Riggleman Hall) of the University of Charleston. A reception will immediately follow the service.

Condolences may be sent to her family at www.barlowbonsall.com.

Barlow Bonsall Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.