Obituary for Lorraine Claire Welch (Hadgkiss) Mrs. Lorraine Claire Hadgkiss Welch, of Coburg Village, Rexford, formerly a resident of Huntington, Long Island and Hilton Head Island, S.C., passed away on Saturday, April 28, 2018 at her residence. She was born on June 28, 1935 in Brooklyn NY to William Hadgkiss and Ella (nee Haagensen) Hadgkiss. She was educated in the Brooklyn public school system and spent most of her childhood living on 76th Street.
Her parents added to the family with the birth of a daughter, Susan and two sons, Robert and Richard. Lorraine spent many enjoyable summers with her beloved grandmother, Clara Johnson, first in Flanders, New Jersey and then in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. Lorraine graduated from Bay Ridge High, a public girl’s high school in 1953.
She was an active member of Good Shepard Lutheran Church in Brooklyn including its many choirs and youth groups. It was on the steps of this church that she first met the man who would become her husband, Clark Jay Welch, and where they later became engaged. After graduating high school, Lorraine went to work in Manhattan at Irving Trust Company as a secretary.
Her fiancee, Jay was serving in the US Navy aboard the destroyer USS Hawkins and later aboard the USS Missouri. She worked at Irving Trust until her marriage, to Jay, on May 12, 1956 at Good Shepard. They relocated to Melbourne, Florida where Jay was working in the early space industry.
Lorraine gave birth to their first child, David, in 1957. The young family relocated to Westchester and later Glen Cove, New York where two more children, Kathryn and Daniel, were born. The family settled in Huntington, New York, where Lorraine would spend the next thirty years as a devoted wife and mother.
Lorraine was a consummate hostess, often entertaining friends and family. During this time, Lorraine and Jay would travel to Europe and on cruises with friends. In the late 1970’s, Lorraine went to work at Hazeltine Corporation, a defense electronics company, as an accounting clerk.
She worked there for over ten years. She and Jay retired and then moved to Hilton Head, SC in 1993 where they enjoyed the warmer weather and many restaurants and activities on the island. They continued to travel all over the world and welcomed the birth of two grandchildren, Klara and Jack.
Jay passed away unexpectedly in 2001. Lorraine continued to live on Hilton Head where she enjoyed playing hostess to visiting friends and family. A new granddaughter, Katelynn was added to the family in 2008.
She also enjoyed spending time at her summer camp on Chateaugay Lake in the Adirondacks. In 2015, Lorraine moved to Rexford, in upstate New York, to be nearer her daughter. She became active in the social activities at her senior living residential facility, Coburg Village, where she enjoyed knitting and adult coloring activities and raising money for a local charity.
She is survived by her son, David, of Canton, Georgia; her daughter Kathryn, of Ballston Spa, NY; her son, Daniel, of Waipu, New Zealand, three cherished grandchildren; her sister, Susan and her brother, Robert. She will be interred at the Saratoga National Cemetery beside her husband of forty-four years. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Captain Community Human Services of Saratoga County, 5 Municipal Plaza #3, Clifton Park, NY 12065.
If you found any mistakes, or you would like to add/remove to this obituary, please contact us by email: info@obituary.memorial. We never ask money for this.
