John Ralvan Welker Dies At 84

John Ralvan Welker

John Ralvan “Ral” Welker of Southampton, a marine biologist and founding faculty member of the Southampton College marine science program, died at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, Florida, on Tuesday, March 13. He was 84.

Mr. Welker was one of the founding faculty members establishing the marine science program at Southampton College, and served as director of marine operations and research from 1965 to 1993. The college’s marine science program became world renowned for its excellence during his time at the college.

“Ral was a major force behind the development and success of the marine science program, and in fact, was the first and longest serving chairman of that department,” said Howard Reisman, professor emeritus of biology at Long Island University. “Throughout the four decades he was at the college, he inspired numerous marine ecology and marine operations and research students to follow careers in the marine sciences.”

One of Mr. Welker’s biggest accomplishments, according to U.S. Representative Tim Bishop who served as the college’s provost for many years, is the great influence he had on his students.

“Southampton College specialized in creating relationships between students and faculty and staff,” Mr. Bishop said. “Nobody did it better than Ral Welker. He devoted his life to his students and to preserving the environment.”

According to Mr. Reisman, Mr. Welker’s former students can be found teaching at other universities, high schools and employed at government institutions, and in local county and town offices associated with natural resources and planning, as well as in private industry as environmental consultants, aquarists and aquaculturists.

Mr. Welker retired as professor emeritus, marine science-biology in 1993 and was greatly honored to receive the 2004 Long Island University Environmental Leadership Award for his lifelong commitment to Southampton College and its marine science program.

“Certainly a big part of his legacy was that he achieved, with not a lot of money but the force of personality and passion, the protection of the environment, and helped to create a world class program—that certainly is his enormous contribution,” Mr. Bishop said.

In his life’s work, he had an impact on the hearts and lives of many, but also made tremendous contributions to the preservation of open space on the East End of Long Island, and the health and quality of many bodies of water, especially the Peconic Bay Estuary System.

“Ral was a knowledgeable marine ecologist who was one of the early voices promoting conservation on the East End,” Mr. Reisman said.

Mr. Welker served as a member of numerous boards and councils: Trustee of The Nature Conservancy; member of the State of New York’s Attorney General’s Wetlands Task Force; Suffolk County Environmental Quality Council; the Southampton Town Conservation Board; and the Southampton Village Beach Preservation Council. He was also a member of the American Society of Limnology & Oceanography, The Nature Conservancy, Bullhead Yacht Club and the Southampton Historical Society.

The son of Roy Alvin Welker and Mary Irene Pray Welker, he was born September 8, 1927 in the American Hospital in Paris, France, where his father was director of residential schools for French war orphans after World War I. Following graduation from high school in 1944 from Rockland, Maine, he served in the U.S. Navy in the final year of World War II at the Naval Academy Prep School in Annapolis, Maryland. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in pre-med from Oberlin College and Western Reserve University in Ohio, he served his country during the Korean War as 1st lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps U.S. Army Europe.

From 1957 to 1961 he was a member of the Northport High School biology faculty. He received his master’s degree from Hofstra University with a concentration in salt marsh ecology and completed graduate study at the School of Oceanography, at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 1964, he was the crew biologist on a five man, 30-day simulated space research project sponsored by NASA and Boeing in Seattle in preparation for later space flight.

He and his wife of 51 years, Mary Meagher Welker, have been seasonal residents of the Hammock in Palm Coast, Florida, for several years.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Ann Elizabeth Welker of Southampton, William Ralvan Welker and his wife Jessica Miller Welker of Florida and John Timothy Welker of Southampton; and a cousin, Dr. Robert L. Timmons, of North Carolina. He was predeceased by his siblings, William and Roy Welker, and Mary Louise Welker Cangiolosi,

A funeral Mass was held on Monday, March 19, at St. Anastasia Catholic Church in St. Augustine, Florida. A memorial service will be held in Southampton in late spring.

Memorial donations may be made to the Quogue Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 492, Quogue, NY 11959, Peconic Land Trust, P.O. Box 1776, Southampton, NY 11969 or Peconic Baykeeper, P.O. Box 893, Quogue, NY 11959.