Matthew E. Welsh - Later Years

Later Years

Constitutionally prevented from seeking a consecutive term, Welsh left office in January 1965 and returned to his law practice in Vincennes. He remained active in the Democratic Party, and had been made a member of national committee in 1964, a position he held until 1968. In 1965, President Johnson appointed him the International Joint Commission that oversaw a range of issues affecting both Canada and the United States, he continued on the commission until 1970. During 1969 he also served on the Indiana Constitutional Revision Committee that authored a series of amendments reorganizing the state courts expanding the power of governors, and making several new constitutional bodies.

In 1972, Welsh was nominated by his party to run for a second term as Governor. The campaign was hard fought and his Republican opponent, Dr Otis R. Bowen, attacked him on the tax plan he had enacted as governor, saying that it was a failure, and the state was still suffering from its effects. Welsh touted his experience and civil-rights support, but ultimately lost the election in a landslide.

Welsh spent his final years in Vincennes, but died after seeking medical attention in Indianapolis on May 28, 1995, aged eighty-two. Throughout his life he often repeated his motto, "It doesn't cost you anything to be a gentleman," and many of his friends and acquaintances say he lived up to it. His remains were interred in Vincennes' Memorial Park Cemetery.