One of Nashua’s trademark leaders of the modern era is taking a step back after providing 63 years of legal service to Greater Nashua. Attorney Robert “Bob” Welts, of Welts White and Fontaine, officially retired on Jan. 31.

However, if you have some loose ends to wrap up with him, you can almost certainly reach him in his office for at least another month, as diverging with the way one has lived their life for over half-century requires some shuffling.

Now 87, Welts reflected on the incredible feats and services he provided to the Nashua community, both inside and out of his practice.

“I grew up in Milton, Massachusetts, just south of Boston, and ended up going to Milton High School. From there, I went first to Boston College School of Business Administration for four years,” Welts said. “I was on scholarship for tuition for all seven years at the college and law school. Although (tuition) was awfully low compared to – well, there is just no comparison these days.”

In May 1954, Welts graduated from Boston College with a bachelor of science in business administration. Immediately following, he continued his higher education through his alma mater and received a Juris Doctorate after three years in 1957.

“The law school had been in downtown Boston, and it moved out to the heights in Chestnut Hill, so I was the first class in the new law school,” Welts said.

During his time in college, one of Welts’ transparently more memorable law professors made a suggestion that became irreversibly imprinted on him during his life.

“One of my professors said in class; ‘Don’t try and find an opening in Boston.’ It was very crowded. … So I just had that in the back of my mind,” Welts said.

In December 1956, approximately six months prior to the completion of his JD, Welts learned of an attorney in Nashua looking for a graduate student to join his firm.

“His name was Kenneth McLaughlin. I talked to him, (and then) I started going up in January or so of 1957 on Saturdays. The office, back then, opened for a half-day on Saturdays, so I would at least mingle with them. I did that all the way through until graduation, just picking up information,” Welts said.

Following Welts’ graduation, he took both the Massachusetts and New Hampshire bar exam and passed both the first time.

“In July … of 1957, I took the bar exam in Concord at the old supreme courthouse, a new one’s been built since that time. I remember there being a fireplace in the room we were taking an exam.”

According to Welts, at the time, the New Hampshire exam lasted for three days, with six-hour sessions per day, totaling 18 total hours for the full exam.

“I wanted to take the Massachusetts exam, because although this looked like what I wanted – just in case there were any problems, I could always still have a license down there.

I think the Massachusetts exam, which was two days only, (I took) eight days after finishing the New Hampshire exam,” Welts said. “That’s kind of how it started.”

Welts reported that he came to Nashua knowing no one, which prompted him to join the junior Chamber of Commerce as well as the Knights of Columbus, for which he is a lifetime member.

These connections not only brought about clientele presently and prospectively in his practice, but also accompanied political opportunity as Welts was named chairman of the city zoning board, and later (1960) became an Alderman for Ward 8 in Nashua.

In the interim, the Korean War loomed over the heads of American citizens, so Welts decided to join the Grenier National Guard. For six months, he stayed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, but then returned home on Armistice Day and resumed his work with McLaughlin in winter 1958.

“At that point, attorney McLaughin was selected to be one of two judges at Nashua District Court. Back then, it was not (a) full-time (position), but he was sitting on the bench. I decided to switch offices, (because he was not) there, and I couldn’t handle a case in that court because attorney McLaughin was the judge, (a conflict of interest),” Welts explained.

He continued, “In October of 1958, I joined Sweeny, and the name of the firm at that point was called Sweeny and Welts, so that was my first time I had a name on a door. The office was located on the top floor of what for many years was the Second National Bank of Nashua. Near the end, it became TD, or whatever it is. The bank at that time only used the bottom floor. There were maybe five or six attorneys in single practice up on the top floor, plus Sweeny and Welts.”

After a few years, Sweeny and Welts moved to 6 Manchester St., Nashua.

“That’s still Sweeny’s office,” Welts said. “The two of us worked together until April 1963.”

Succeeding Welts’ partnership with Sweeny followed his partnership with Harrison Smith, another attorney in the area until 1978.

“I was with Smith’s office; so it was always Smith, Welts and there were different names because others came and went … but it was quite a time.”

Then in 1978, Welts started his own firm.

“As you’re heading towards Main Street (on Factory Street), there’s a red brick building on the left-hand side, directly across from a city parking garage. … Although that’s one building now, it used to be three different buildings, but they went out of business, so I actually bought each of these buildings (at separate instances),” he said.

Welts added, “I moved over to the building with one attorney from Smith’s office, and maybe three employees came with me, so we probably started out with five (employees) at that point.”

Despite a Goldstar reputation in the community, not only with Welts’ years of legal experience but also including his political impact as an alderman and chairman of the zoning board, Welts had tremendous difficulty finding business in the initial years.

“The first year or two was bad, because there was a depression or something, the interest rates were crazy in 1980 – they went up like 20 percent, which made it very difficult to do any business,” Welts explained.

Then, Jack White joined the firm in 1980 and became a partner in 1983. Following was Mike Fontaine, who joined in 1985 and became a partner in 1991.

“For many years – from ’91, at least, to 2010, we had three partners in the firm, and we kept increasing people,” Welts said. “Right now, we did have 10 attorneys, but now we’re down to nine attorneys (since I am retiring), and 18 staff members.”

At 87 and after 63 years of practice and service to the Nashua area, Welts has decided to end, quite literally, his own era in this community.

“Why have I stayed so long? Because I enjoy being a lawyer,” Welts laughed. “Over the years, I did work before zoning and planning boards, not just in Nashua, but in places like Hudson and Hollis and Amherst. The last five or so were really cut down, because it’s tough for the wife at home because the zoning boards are at night.”

Although Welts may no longer be as involved in the community, make no mistake, he’s still active.

“My favorite sport is running. I’m still running competitively at 87 years old. I belong to two running clubs, the biggest one is Gate City Striders, and we have workouts together, but we’re also a club, and we run against other clubs in New Hampshire. I average about 20 races a year. I just run 5ks now. I used to run 5 and 10ks and 5-milers. Also, I am a member of the New England 65 Plus Runners Club,” Welts said.