Mark Matthew Welter, age 85, passed away peacefully Thursday, November 29, 2018. Memorial Services will be on Saturday, May 18, 2019, 2:00 p.m. at the Ney Nature Center, (28238 Nature Center lane, Henderson, MN 56044). Visitation at the Ney Center one hour prior to the 2:00 p.m. service, refreshments to follow.
Burial will take place in Calvary Cemetery, MN with Military Honors by the Le Sueur Honor Guard. He was the son of Rose (Modert) and Theodore Welter, born in Le Sueur, MN April 25, 1933, where he grew up and graduated high school. He served in the U.S. Navy, traveling to many countries, an experience that shaped his career and love of world history.
Mark graduated from Saint John’s University, and later from the University of Minnesota with a PhD in History. He proudly taught in the Robbinsdale Area School District for nearly 30 years and was also an adjunct history professor at St. Cloud State University. He was a long-time member of Toastmasters and was known as an excellent presenter.
With a strong sense of humor, Mark was famous for his Yuk-Yuks, one-liner jokes that he often used to open his speeches, class sessions, or a conversation. He was an avid runner and loved football. He was especially fond of St. John’s “Johnnie” football games in Collegeville, MN.
Mark was an active participant in civic society, a former member of the Rotary Club, and wrote numerous letters to the editor and commentaries celebrating the freedom and democracy we enjoy in the United States. He emphasized that this privilege must acknowledge our ethnic and cultural diversity and connection to historical events throughout the world. His life passion was global history and teaching.
Many of his efforts showed his love and commitment to increase the awareness that today’s problems and potential are borderless across the world and the universe. He believed that “we must be willing to understand our differences so we can accept our commonalities” (Faiz Faseehuddin, American Muslim), and that “unless we learn to live together as brothers and sisters, we die together as fools” (Martin Luther King Jr.). His inspiration was the renowned world historian William H. McNeill who said that “Innovation is not so much discovered as it is borrowed”.
Mark believed this was the awareness the world must develop. It is with this mindset that he was committed to philanthropy largely in education, and believed that “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister-in-law, Donna Welter.
He is survived by his daughter Christina Rose Welter and her husband David Muzic; 2 grandchildren, Aiden and Annabel; his brother Ted Welter, and many nieces and nephews. The family would like to express our thanks for the wonderful help and care given by Optage Hospice and the Camilia Rose Care Center. If desired, friends may make memorial contributions to the Mark M. Welter World Citizen Award at LeanMN by visiting www.
leadmn.org/donate-now or sending a check to 1515 S Robert Street, West St Paul, MN 55118. www.
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