Nancy Welshman

Welshman, Nancy 2/3/1945 - 9/27/2021 Chicago, Illinois Nancy Welshman, 76, of Chicago, died Monday, September 27, 2021 at Bethesda Rehab & Senior Care in Chicago. She was born February 3, 1945 in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, the daughter of Wayne and Betty (Henss) McNeeley. She grew up in New London, Iowa and attended Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant where she studied music and earned a Bachelor of Music in 1967. During her years at IWC, she sang in the college choir where she met Ian Welshman, who she married on June 5, 1968. She taught elementary and junior high school music classes at WACO School and in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, before opening her own home piano studio in the 1970s and teaching until her retirement in 2008. In 1981 she and Ian relocated to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Ian began a successful career in pharmaceuticals with the Upjohn Company (later Pharmacia, then Pfizer). Nancy was active in the Kalamazoo Area Music Teachers Association and also shared her musical training with Milwood United Methodist Church where she directed the Chancel Choir (1983-2004). During her tenure as director, the choir presented several extended works by composers such as Bach, Faure, Schubert, Hayden, Handel and Benjamin Britten. Nancy was also an active member of the Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts. She was preceded in death by her parents and husband. Surviving are her daughters Emily (Daniel) Kirschner and Sarah (Jonathan) Zimmerman and five grandchildren, Madeleine, Eve, Andrew and Chloe Kirschner and Arden Zimmerman, a brother Steven (Mary) McNeeley, a sister Martha (Howard) Meeker and much loved nieces, nephews and cousins. A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 27th at 2:00pm at Milwood United Methodist Church, 3919 Portage Rd, Kalamazoo, MI 49001. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Milwood United Methodist Church (3919 Portage Rd, Kalamazoo, MI 49001) to be used for the Special Music Fund. Cremation Society of Illinois, Chicago Funeral Service Center, Chicago, IL https://w