For nearly three decades, Agnes Welch has been a fixture at Baltimore's City Hall, championing the residents of Southwest Baltimore and seniors, while mixing equal parts grandmotherly warmth and political acumen.
City leaders past and present gathered Thursday evening to salute Welch, 86, who retired from the City Council this week after 27 years.
"She may be small in stature, but she is a force to be reckoned with," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, presenting Welch with a proclamation calling her "a fearless, tireless and tenacious leader."
Former Mayor Sheila Dixon, in her first speech at City Hall since resigning in February as part of a plea deal in a criminal case, praised Welch's warmth and youthful spirit.
"Whatever her secret is, you need to find it and bottle it," Dixon said. "Her commitment to the people of this city and the love that she spreads from children to adults has impacted the city immensely."
State Del.-elect Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., who represented the old 4th District on the council with Welch and Dixon, recalled the councilwoman as being surprisingly tough, with a vocabulary to match.
"I was 28, just out of law school, and she showed me the ropes," Mitchell said. "She would say, 'Hey, baby,' then lean over the floor of the council and say, 'Mitchell, don't you [expletive] do anything about this without talking to me first.'"
Council members are scheduled to hold a hearing in early January to select Welch's successor. Many have signaled their support for her son and longtime aide, William "Pete" Welch, to fill her seat.
Welch grew misty-eyed when Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young presented her with a painting of City Hall signed by the sitting council members.
Although she officially retired Tuesday, she has spent the week signing documents and returning calls from constituents, she said.
"It only hit me just now that I'm retired," said Welch, who worked as a social worker before joining the council.
"I won't be sitting beside you, but I will be watching over you," Welch told the council. "I might be leaving the office and the title, but I'll never leave the work."