Gregory Welsh
Gregory Alan Welsh was born September 22, 1958 to Esther and William Welsh, the oldest son of eight children. Raised on the family’s cattle farm in rural Lansing, Greg’s investment in small family farms started early. He graduated from Kee High School in Lansing in 1977.
He went on to major in Business at Loras College in Dubuque, graduating in 1981. After graduating, he worked for Iowa State University to help start their organic program. This work was the kick start to his career as a mentor and pioneer in the organic industry. He spent time traveling, finding himself, and further concreting his commitment to organic food production. He landed in California for a while working for Wonderlife Organics.
Greg’s work soon took him to Wisconsin to a small co-op that was trying to get off the ground. He became the first official employee of the newly formed Organic Valley CROPP Cooperative and went on to spend 15 years bringing well over 100 farms to join the meat, dairy and vegetable pools. He received the Ray Haus Pioneer Award from Organic Valley for work that “embodied the cooperative spirit and care for the land and commitment to organic principles”.
In 1988, Greg’s interest turned toward a patch of land outside the tiny town of Gays Mills, WI. Along with the owner at the time, Greg spent months hand planting 5,000 apple trees, the beginning of what was to become Turkey Ridge Organic Orchard. After that initial planting, Greg’s jet setter tendencies again took hold and he left to travel to Russia on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help introduce farmers there to organic production methods.
As was fairly typical at the time, these efforts weren’t well-received by all, and this trip was cut short when Greg and team were “invited” to leave the country earlier than planned. But, despite the challenges, this trip and the people he met and worked with had a tremendous impact on Greg.
Greg then went back to work at Organic Valley until 2001 when he decided to return to the orchard he had helped start, with the intent of buying the land and business. There he met his future wife and daughter. In 2002, Greg had his first grand maul seizure and a brain tumor was found. It wasn’t long after the surgery to remove the tumor that Greg was back at work, both with Organic Valley and at Turkey Ridge. During this time, from 2005 to 2008, Greg and Faye took their passion and commitment to educating others about the benefit of organic production to the next generation by developing and teaching the first organic agriculture class at the local high school.
In 2008, Greg and Faye married and soon their son Thurgood was born. Shortly after, in 2009, Greg learned that the tumor had returned and become more aggressive when he had a second grand maul seizure. At the time, he was given three months to live. With treatment, a commitment to healthy living, the support of his family and friends, and a bit of his characteristic stubbornness, Greg was found to be “cancer free” after six months.
In 2011, Greg and Faye would adopt their youngest daughter, Winter. Later that year, Greg retired from Organic Valley, but the orchard continued to supply them with cider vinegar for distribution to many of the area’s dairy farms.
Greg was always a force of positivity and strength for his family and friends. Through two complete crop losses and a global pandemic, he stayed smiling. In February of 2023, he suffered a debilitating stroke. He spent a month in the hospital going through physical therapy (and making fast friends with his therapists), before coming home to the care of his family, where he was able to live out the time he had remaining. That was the only place he wanted to be. Greg peacefully left this world surrounded by his family as the sun rose July 11, 2024.
Left to cherish Greg’s memory are his wife, Faye, and three children, Jahmuna Rogers, Thurgood Welsh and Winter Belongia; his mother, Esther Welsh of Lansing; his siblings: Janice Smerud of Rochester, MN, Barbara Welsh of Viroqua, WI, Gary (Kim) Welsh of Lansing, Jean (Van Biesel) Welsh of Atlanta, GA, Rose (Mark) Norman of Rochester, MN, Mike (Lisa) Welsh of Lansing and Mary (Bob) Sandry of DeWitt. He is preceded in death by his, father William Welsh, and his infant brother, Mark.
A Celebration of Life was held Monday, July 15 at Turkey Ridge Organic Orchard in Gays Mills, WI.
