Jane Feltus Welch

Born in Natchez, Mississippi, she was the daughter of William James and Lucy Brasfield Feltus. As a child, she often visited New York City with her parents, who encouraged the love of the arts that grew into a lifelong passion for the theater. She graduated from Sweet Briar College and the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York.

While at Sweet Briar, she met James Stirling Welch of Louisville, then a law student at the University of Virginia. He became her true love and her anchor. They married in 1957 and began their life together in New York, where she pursued acting and he practiced law. In 1959, they moved to Louisville and raised three children alongside Jim’s family, which soon became her own.

Jane continued to act in Louisville and was especially remembered for her portrayal of Blanche in Actors Theatre’s 1965 production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Yet much of her time and energy was devoted to her home, her faith and her community. That devotion never wavered. She and Jim worked to strengthen the arts in Louisville, and Jane was instrumental in organizing the Speed Museum Ball and the Hardscuffle Steeplechase, successful fundraisers that helped sustain two pillars of the city’s cultural life, the museum and the Kentucky Opera. She was also active in the Junior League and the Fund for the Arts.

She was forthright in support of the causes she believed in and quick to offer whatever help she could. One of her particular gifts was bringing people and worthy causes together, often at gatherings, large and small, in her home.

In 1983, Jane returned to the stage full time, performing in regional theaters across the country and in New York. Among her favorite roles was Daisy in Driving Miss Daisy. Over time, she played each of the characters in Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women, as well as Violet Venable in Suddenly Last Summer, Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Birdie in The Little Foxes. Louisville audiences also remembered her as Mrs. Higgins in Kentucky Opera’s My Fair Lady. Her film credits included Broadcast News, Her Alibi and Story of a Marriage.

The breadth and depth of her characters reflected something of her own. She embraced each role, the community of the theater and the adventure that every performance offered. She took immense pleasure in these experiences and was often welcomed and supported by Sweet Briar alumnae across the country. New York became a second home, a place that nourished her creative spirit and her seemingly inexhaustible appetite for art and culture.

Faith was a foundation of Jane’s life. She was willing to explore doubt and open to wonder. A longtime member of Highland Presbyterian Church, she loved her Sunday school classes and the opportunity to read Scripture during worship. She gave generously of her time, cared deeply for the congregation and never hesitated to make a new friend in the pew beside her. She was a devoted supporter and board member of the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

Jane possessed a gift for connecting with people, born of a deep curiosity about the world and those who shared it with her. She treasured her Foreign Affairs group and could be seen throughout Louisville at performances, lectures and exhibitions, eager to share what she had seen and learned.

Family remained at the center of her life. She maintained close relationships with relatives across generations and distances, and she delighted in entertaining them. At the dinner table, her inquisitiveness was legendary; a guest might be caught off guard by a sharp question, a surprising observation or a provocative remark. Old friends and new acquaintances alike knew her quick wit and sparkling humor.

Jane will be remembered for her devotion to her family, her home and her city, and for the spirited openness with which she greeted each day. She could be difficult to define: elegant and hilarious, a matriarch and a tenacious actress, a Southern hostess and a big-city artist. She was at once traditional and remarkably current, deeply rooted and always growing. She was gentle, though she could be tough, and she asked much of herself as well as of others. Her enthusiasm kept her sharp, passionate and engaged, an inspiration to those who knew and loved her.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, William; her daughter-in-law, Clare; and her husband, Jim.

She is survived by her three children, James S. Welch, Jr. (Marianne), Lucy van Tine (Robin) and Eliza Welch; five grandchildren, Tristan van Tine (Shalon), Stirling Welch (Caitrin), Maud MacLean (John), Ada van Tine (AJ) and Schuyler van Tine; and five great-grandchildren, James, Hazel, Francis, Cincaid and Angus. She is also survived by her brother, Charles Feltus; her sister-in-law, Martha Welch; and nine adoring nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. at her home, 2001 N. Rose Island Road, Prospect, Kentucky. The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Highland Presbyterian Church, followed immediately by a family burial. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Kentucky Refugee Ministries or the Louisville Orchestra.