William J WelchDr. William J. Welch and Mrs. Louise M. Welch met in 1934. Mrs. Welch had been part of A. R. Orage's Gurdjieff group in New York City since the late 1920s and Dr. Welch, in the midst of a career change from advertising to medicine, joined the Work son after they met. They married in 1941. During Gurdjieff's last trip to New York, in the winter of 1948-49, the Welches participated extensively in Gurdjieff's daily activities. Summoned to Paris by Gurdjieff, Dr. Welch was the attending physician during Gurdjieff's last illness in October 1949. After Gurdjieff died, the Welches were among a small group of his followers in New York who carried on the teaching and established the Gurdjieff Foundation of New York. Dr. Welch was the president of the Foundation from 1984 until his death in 1997. The Welches worked with groups in New York, Toronto, and Halifax, including the "Friday group," which met at their brownstone in New York. It is from meetings of the Friday group that transcripts were selected for this book Read More Read Less