Beloved Peterborough Coach Passes Away Suddenly At Age 64

The Peterborough sports community has mourned the loss of coach John Welsh, who passed away suddenly at age 64 on Tuesday.

Photo courtesy of KMFL Peterborough.

Welsh was active in the sports world for several decades. He coached in the Kinsmen Minor Football League (KMFL) for 45 years, was the founding president of the Peterborough Hockey Association for 25 years and coached the St. Peter’s Secondary School Saints Senior football team.

The KMFL released this statement regarding Welsh’s passing:

“John had a heart of gold. He cared deeply, and he showed it in the way he treated everyone—especially his players, who he loved like family. Whether it was a word of encouragement, a quiet check-in, or simply being there when someone needed support, John was someone you could always count on. And if you ever watched John on the sidelines, you saw the joy in his face watching his players play. There was pride in every moment, in every rep, in every success they achieved. Their growth and happiness meant everything to him.”

Brian Junkin of the Peterborough Wolverines, who worked with Welsh, also released a statement on behalf of the organization:

“Football is Family. Unfortunately, we lost a prominent member of our family last night. It saddens me to inform you that longtime Wolverines and KMFL Coach John Welsh has passed away. John devoted over 45 years of his life to coaching youth in multiple sports, but especially football. This is a generational loss to the Peterborough Football Community. Some of our coaching staff were actually coached by John as children and have now had their own kids coached by John. He spent thousands of hours coaching thousands of kids in high school, house league and rep ball.

On a personal note, it was John Welsh that gave me my first opportunity to coach football some 23 years ago and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to coach under him for 16 years in the KMFL. He will be greatly missed.”

Welsh leaves behind his wife Vicki; his children Sarah and Jonathon and his grandchildren Lila-Jane, William and Margaret. He is a brother to Jim and Bill; brother-in-law to Nancy and an uncle to several nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held at Highland Park Funeral Centre on May 11 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by the funeral service to start immediately after. Words of remembrance will be shared at 1 p.m., followed by a reception.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the KMFL John Welsh Financial Grant, which can be made by emailing fundraising@kmfl.ca.

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