John R. Welker

John R. Welker September 8, 1927 - March 13, 2012 John Ralvan (Ral) Welker of Southampton, New York died March 13, 2012 at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, Florida, surrounded by his family. The son of Roy Alvin Welker and Mary Irene Pray Welker; he was born September 8, l927 in the American Hospital in Paris, France, where his father was Director of Residential Schools for French War Orphans after World War I. Following graduation from High School with the Class of 1944 from Rockland, Maine, he served in the U.S. Navy in the final year of World War II at the Naval Academy Prep School in Annapolis, MD. After receiving his Bachelor's Degree in pre-med from Oberlin College and Western Reserve University in Ohio, he served his country during the Korean War as a 1st Lt. in the Medical Service Corp, US Army Europe. From 1957 - 1961 he was a member of the Northport, NY High School Biology Faculty. Ral received his Master's Degree from Hofstra University on Long Island with a concentration in Salt Marsh Ecology and completed graduate study at the School of Oceanography, at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. In 1964, he was the Crew Biologist on a five man, thirty day Simulated Space Research Project sponsored by NASA and Boeing in Seattle in preparation for later space flight.. Ral was one of the founding faculty members establishing the Marine Science Program at Southampton College on Long Island, serving as Director of Marine Operations and Research from 1965-1993. The Marine Science Program became world renowned for its excellence. He retired as Professor Emeritus, Marine Science-Biology in 1993. He was greatly honored to receive the 2004 Long Island University Environmental Leadership Award for his life - long commitment to Southampton College and its Marine Science Program. In his life's work, he impacted the hearts and lives of many, but also made tremendous contributions to the preservation of open space on the East End of Long Island, and the health and quality of many bodies of water, especially the Peconic Bay Estuary System. He served as a member of numerous Boards and Councils: Trustee of The Nature Conservancy; member of the State of New York's Attorney General's Wetlands Task Force; Environmental Quality Council-Suffolk Co., NY; Conservation Board-Southampton Town, NY; Beach Preservation Council-Southampton Village, NY. He was a member of the American Society Limnology & Oceanography, The Nature Conservancy, Bullhead Yacht Club and the Southampton Historical Society. Ral and his wife, Mary, have been seasonal residents of the Hammock in Palm Coast, FL for several years. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Mary Meagher Welker, and a daughter, Ann Elizabeth Welker, both of Southampton, NY; sons, William Ralvan Welker, and his wife, Jessica Miller Welker of Palm Coast, FL and John Timothy Welker of Southampton, NY. He was preceded in death by two brothers, William and Roy, and a sister, Mary Louise Welker Cangiolosi, late of East Hampton, NY. Survivors also include first cousin Dr. Robert L. Timmons, of Bald Head Island, North Carolina. A Memorial Mass will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, March 19th, at St. Anastasia Catholic Church, St. Augustine, Florida with Father Terrence Morgan officiating. A Celebration of Life Service will be held in Southampton, NY in late spring. If anyone wishes to make a contribution in Ral's memory, he had a abiding interest in each of the following: Quogue Wild Life Refuge, P.O. Box 492, Quogue, NY 11959, Peconic Land Trust, P.O. Box 1776, Southampton, NY 11969 or Peconic Baykeeper, P.O. Box 893, Quogue, NY 11959. St. Johns Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.