Dr. Robert B. Welch

Dr. Robert Bond Welch, MD, an internationally renowned ophthalmologist, died Tuesday, January 5, 2021 at the Blakehurst Retirement Community in Towson. He was 93 years old.

The son of Dr. Robert Sellman Gray Welch, MD, the first Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat specialist in Annapolis, and Sarah Bond Welch, a homemaker, Dr. Welch was born in Baltimore and grew up in Annapolis. His college years were interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served in the Navy as a hospital corpsman. In 1949, Dr. Welch graduated from Princeton University and went on to receive his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He pursued his internship in internal medicine at Duke University Hospital, but then changed his specialty and returned in 1954 to the Wilmer Eye Institute for an ophthalmology internship under Dr. Alan C. Woods. Following his third year of residency in 1957, he was selected to become Chief Resident by Dr. A. Edward Maumenee who had succeeded Dr. Woods.

On a sailing venture to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, he caught sight of Betty Truslow aboard an adjacent skiff, and the rest was history. The Welches were married on Memorial Day, May 20, 1953, and lived in Roland Park until moving to Blakehurst in 2016. Throughout his career and their 62-year marriage Betty was Bob’s “right-hand man,” his supporter, practice manager and loving wife until her death in 2016. They were world travelers, and as avid members of the Holly Society of America, they cultivated dozens of species at their Annapolis home.

Dr. Welch established himself as a leading figure in retinal care and surgery, clinical research and training. At Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, he co-directed the Wilmer Retina Service from 1959 to 1985, served as Chairman of Ophthalmology at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center from 1985 to 1991, and was selected as President of the American Ophthalmological Society in 1994. Dr. Welch was the retinal consultant to the United States Public Health Service Hospital, Bethesda Naval Hospital and Walter Reed Army Hospital. In recognition of his remarkable record of distinguished service, the US Department of the Army presented him with the Superior Civilian Service award in 2004. Among his many other recognitions and honors, the Robert Bond Welch, MD Professorship for Medical and Surgical Diseases of the Retina was established at the Wilmer Eye Institute in 2006, and GBMC created an endowed chair in Ophthalmology in his name in 2015. Dr. Welch also maintained a private ophthalmology practice with offices on Mount Vernon Place in Baltimore and on State Circle in Annapolis, where he was beloved by generations of patients.

A longtime, active member of Saint David’s Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Dr. Welch was a fixture at the 8:00 service, where he served as an usher for years. He cared deeply for his family and as senior poet laureate, he celebrated their milestones with clever, thoughtful poems. His keen interest in history culminated in his writing two remarkable histories of the Wilmer Institute, the second, The Wilmer Ophthalmologic Institute 1925-1975, written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its founding.

Dr. Welch is survived by his devoted sister, Sarah Bond Welch Geary of Alexandria, VA; his nephew, John Welch Geary and his wife Kathye of Annapolis, and their children: Robert Geary and Meredith Hawley, and their granddaughter, Natalie Hawley; cousins: Anne-Steuart Palmer of Roland Park and Hal Vaughan of Prince Frederick; and loving in-laws, nieces, nephews and longtime friends.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a memorial service will be held at a later time.

Donations may be sent to: Robert Bond Welch Professorship for Medical and Surgical Diseases of the Retina at the Wilmer Eye Institute, c/o Brianna Miller, Johns Hopkins Office of Planned Giving, San Martin Center, 2nd Floor, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218; or GBMC, Welch-Hoover Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology, c/o John C. Jeppi, GBMC Foundation, 6701 N. Charles Street, Towson, MD 21204, or Saint David’s Episcopal Church, 4700 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21210.