Gillian Welch
December 5th, 2018
The Story
My great grandfather, Raymond L. Welch, was born in Dunlap, Tennessee in 1906. He married Irene Higgins, who was also from Tennessee. A few years after my grandfather, Norman (pictured right), was born, Raymond and Irene decided to move to Ypsilanti, Michigan. My great grandfather was in search of work with the big automotive companies, and he found it at Ford Motor Company. His job was in the painting department, where he worked inside and outside of the plant. Due to over exposure, he caught pneumonia from the outdoor work and passed away 2 years before my father was born. My
pictured: Arlene Reynolds and Norman Dean (Welch)
grandfather went into the same business, working in painting, as did my father. The only difference is my father started his own painting company during his undergrad at the University of Michigan. After Pursuing a career as a lawyer in Texas, my father came back to Ann Arbor, Michigan and started his own Home Building Company called Wexford Homes. My aunt on my father's side, used to work for Ford Motor Company and her husband currently works for them. It is amazing to see that my family, though we are better off now, is still involved with the reasons my ancestors moved North.