Walter Thurman Welch, Jr.

Walter Thurman Welch, Jr.

Walter Thurman Welch, Junior, passed from this world on August 2, 2019.  He died at his residence in Huntsville, Texas, surrounded by his loving family.

Born on November 12, 1934 in Beam Community, southern Oklahoma, to Syble Moates Welch and Walter Thurman Welch, Senior, Walter lived through the Great Depression among relatives and friends in the Waureka, Oklahoma area.  Later his family moved to Duncan, Oklahoma where he graduated from high school. Walter attended college at Cameron State Agricultural College and graduated from Central State College in Edmund, Oklahoma. 

His life was an example of what it means to be a good man, a good husband, a good father and a good citizen.

He was a loving father for his sons, Clay and Matt, and a strong role model for the countless students he taught and coached during his years in education at Schulenburg, Cypress-Fairbanks, Mt. Enterprise, and Henderson.

He also worked as a general contractor for Lowry Construction Company in Texas City and served on the Board of Directors at the Bank of Santa Fe in Santa Fe, Texas.

Those who had the pleasure of knowing Walter were blessed by his calm, gentle nature, his grounded outlook on life, and his dry wit.  Walter always pushed himself to improve, and this attitude manifested in his working life as well as his leisure time and retirement; later in his life he spent many hours in a state of combined happiness and deep frustration, chasing a lower golf score with like-minded friends.

We will always remember his commitment to our family, his greatest priority.

Walter is survived by his wife Marce.  He is also survived by his son Clayborn and Clay’s family: wife Jacqueline, son Hunter, daughter Aislinn, daughter Katherine and daughter Vivian who reside in Moraga, California.  He is also survived by his son Matthew and Matt’s family: wife Meagan, daughter Sadie and daughter Eden who reside in Austin, Texas. He is also survived by his brother Clabe and Clabe’s wife Gloria of Bennington, Oklahoma, and their sons Clete and Chance Welch.

A visitation with the family will be from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 7, 2019 in the chapel of Hayes Funeral Home, 10412 Highway 6, Hitchcock, TX, (409)-925-3501, followed by a graveside service at 3:00 p.m. at Galveston Memorial Park.

A memorial service will be held in Walter’s memory at 11:00 a.m. on September 21, 2019, at Hilltop Lakes Chapel, 2 Hilltop Lakes Drive, Hilltop Lakes, TX with Dr. Tony Taylor officiating.

Memorials in the form of donations may be made in Walter’s name to the Salvation Army in Texas City or the Boys and Girls Club of Huntsville. 

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