 Welch acted as a director for Nabisco from 1963 until 1978, and his son, James O. Welch Jr. has been president of Nabisco.The Welch brands were sold to Warner-Lambert in 1988; Tootsie Roll Industries acquired them in 1993.Following the collapse of his own confectionery company, the Oxford Candy Company, during the United States Great Depression James O. Welch's brother, Robert W. Welch, Jr., co-founder of the John Birch Society, joined the James O. Welch Company.