Rev. Dr. Mary Anne Welch – Pastor
Long, long ago (but not in a galaxy far, far away), Rev. Dr. Mary Anne Welch was born in Greenwood, SC, the first child of Theron and Dot Underwood. Twenty-two months later, she was joined by her sister Barbara. This being in the days when mothers were not expected to entertain their children and be their playmate, the girls shared a room, played together, had the normal disagreements, sold Girl Scout cookies and the usual school fund raiser items (not very successfully as we hated asking adults whom we did not know well to buy things),
Mary Anne attended Jeter-McNeil Kindergarten (long since demolished), Leslie Elementary School for first through fourth grades (also long since demolished), Merrywood Elementary School for fifth and sixth grades (not demolished but a new school with the same name was built several miles away), Northside Junior High (same fate as Merrywood), and Greenwood High School (also same fate as Merrywood and Northside but with the original building renovated into senior citizen apartments). Walking down memory lane is a little difficult when the site of the original memories no longer exists.
Having decided in first grade to become a teacher, Mary Anne next attended Lander College (now Lander University). So did a large percentage of the Greenwood High graduating class. She graduated early with a double major in elementary education and early childhood education and a minor in history.
Two weeks after graduating from Lander, Mary Anne married Lawrence. They met in high school. So, it took six years of dating for them to prepare for life together, seeing each other in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, and most of the other circumstances mentioned in the wedding vows. In January 2023, they will celebrate their 50th anniversary. Although they never had children, they think it would be fun to have some grandchildren. They just haven’t figured out how to work that. Yet!
Mary Anne spent thirty years in the classroom, mostly in the company of third graders. The first sixteen years were spent in a high-poverty area while the rest were in a more suburban, middle-class environment.
After retiring from teaching, Mary Anne entered Union Presbyterian seminary in Charlotte, NC. It is a second campus for the seminary based in Richmond, Virginia. It is geared toward second career persons, many of whom are still employed full-time. Classes are held on Saturdays. Five years after seminary graduation, she entered the Doctor of Ministry program through Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and graduated in 2016. Her doctoral project was entitled “Eat This Scroll: Teaching Exegetical Techniques to Laity”.
In 2010, she was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament and served Great Falls (SC) Presbyterian Church for five years. Then she was called to serve Sharon Presbyterian Church in rural Farmington, Iowa. Here she learned about farming (corn, soybeans, and livestock), snow, sub-zero temperatures, strong winds, and being able to see for miles.
She retired once again, and she and Lawrence moved back to South Carolina to be near family. After spending almost six months doing pulpit supply (Have robe; will travel), she accepted a call to serve as part-time Sated Supply at Simpsonville Presbyterian Church. She is anticipating new relationships and opportunities to serve God in tandem with this community.
Darrell Johnson – Church Pianist
Darrell is a native of Greer, SC and attended Riverside High School and Furman University. After serving First Presbyterian as pianist for over eight years, Darrell relocated to Nashville, Tn. where he retired from the insurance industry. He has since returned to Greer and to First Presbyterian Church as worship pianist. Darrell enjoys the “lake life”, gardening, and being outside.
Jackie Koch – Office Administrator
Jackie moved to Simpsonville, SC from Maryland in January of 2016. She began her position as church office administrator in September 2017. She is retired from her last position as Marketing Specialist at a Government facility. Jackie has more than 40 years experience in office administration and marketing, including positions in Stuttgart, Germany and Harrogate, England. She enjoys reading, playing Mahjongg, and spending time with friends and family.