Thomas Lambert Welch

"And, when he shall die,

Take him and cut him out in little stars,

And he will make the face of heaven so fine

That all the world will be in love with night

And pay no worship to the garish sun.”

― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Thomas Lambert Welch of Atlanta, GA. died suddenly and unexpectedly on July 22, 2026. He is the beloved son of Drs. Dennis Welch and Donna Callan; cherished brother of Matthew Welch and Connor Welch; and devoted father to Dove Thomas Hollis. He was 26 years old.

Tommy was born and raised in Atlanta. He proudly identifies, due to his many trips “Up North”, as a son of New England. As a baby and little boy, he was so lovely and kind that he earned the family nickname of Sweetie Boy. He loved butterflies, sharks, Nemo, the Art Barn, tree climbing, the beach, and his family. He attended Sarah Smith Elementary School and Woodward Academy. In elementary school and middle school, he was a member of Nellya Fencing Club, competing as a saber fencer at tournaments across the country, including qualifying for US Fencing Junior Nationals twice. As a young boy and teenager, he enjoyed many wonderful summers at Camp High Harbour on Lake Burton and magical family vacations to Lamberts Cove Beach on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. As he grew, he developed a deep love of literature, poetry, storytelling, and painting, as well as a passion for helping others.

Tommy was an accomplished poet, writer, activist, entrepreneur, brilliant chess player and barista. In 2016, he became a Georgia Junior Poet Laureate Finalist for his poem “Observer Effect” which earned publication in Atlanta Magazine and a college scholarship from then Governor Nathan Deal. He was honored to have his poem, “Ecosphere”, published in Reach of Song, an Anthology of Georgia Poets in 2019. He also earned a publication in the National Anthology of High School Poets in 2017 for his poem “Entropy”. He was nominated by his high school teachers and selected through interviews and writings for the prestigious Georgia Governors Honors Program (GHP) in his junior year of high school in Communication Arts.

Tommy studied English and Creative Writing at the University of California, Berkeley where he received High Honors and the award for Outstanding Student in Humanities. He deeply enjoyed his time at UC, Berkeley: he worked as a research assistant and DJ for CALX, the local Berkeley radio station; as a writer for CARAVAN, a travel and style magazine published by the Berkeley Press; as a journalist-activist covering the protests of 2020 for UC, Berkeley student newspaper The Daily Californian and writing on environmental justice issues related to the Stop Line 3 Protest movement for The Intercept. Over the past year, Tommy launched Feed JEFF, a street art movement focused on bringing attention to income inequality and affordability issues that many Americans are currently experiencing. Look for the colorful neon octopus, Jeff, who can still be found smiling mischievously throughout Atlanta, and is a nod to a certain Jeff who likes rivers in South America and money.

Tommy talked the talk and walked the walk as directed in Matthew 25: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” He helped the poor through his volunteer work with the Atlanta chapter of Food Not Bombs; he visited and wrote to the incarcerated at Lumpkin County Georgia Immigrant Detention Center; he tutored immigrant children in English and creative writing; he worked with the Prison Literature Project while studying at UC, Berkeley, an organization that mails thousands of free books and handles requests for books for incarcerated people across the US; and he would give someone in need the shirt off of his back, literally. Please pray, in this our darkest hour, that he is justly rewarded for his empathy, compassion, kindness and humanity.

Tommy is survived by his heartbroken family: Drs. Dennis Welch and Donna Callan of Atlanta; his brother and sister-in-law, Matthew and Jenny Welch of East Atlanta; his brother, Connor Welch of Atlanta; his cousins, Joseph and Christina St. John and their children, Avery and Theodore, of Marietta; his cherished nanny and adopted grandmother, Joanne Snead, and the entire Snead family of South Fulton; the mother of his only child, Rachel Hollis, of Villa Rica; and his cherished son, Dove Thomas Hollis, age 2, who has been a dazzling source of love, joy, and wonder in Tommy’s much too brief life.

He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, John G. Welch and Ruth Joyce Welch, of Needham, Massachusetts; his maternal grandparents, Dr. John J. Callan and Karen Callan of Reading, Massachusetts; and Joan LaChance Callan of Newport, Rhode Island.

There are so many wonderful family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues who have reached out in kindness. We thank you all.

A private Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at The Catholic Chapel on the campus of Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta on July 30, 2026. Following the Mass, family and friends are invited to a luncheon and Celebration of Tommy’s Life beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Fado Irish Pub in Buckhead. A Catholic Mass of remembrance will be celebrated in honor of Tommy at The Marsh Chapel at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts on Sunday, August 2, 2026 at 4 p.m. Family and friends are invited to stay after the Mass for a Prayer Service with Father Kevin Staley-Joyce.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dove Thomas Hollis Educational Fund (https://www.gofundme.com/f/dove-education-fund), established to support Tommy’s beloved son.

AR DHEIS DÉ GO RAIBH A ANAM

"May his soul be at God's right hand"