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© The Chickasha Express-Star Chickasha, Oklahoma November 14, 2003 March 26, 1925 ~ November 14, 2003 Funeral services for Alvah M. Welch, 78, of Chickasha, Okla., are pending with McRay Funeral Home. Alvah M. Welch was born March 26, 1925, and he died on Friday, November 14, 2003. © The Chickasha Express-Star Chickasha, Oklahoma November 16, 2003
March 26, 1925 ~ November 14, 2003 Funeral service for Alvah "Al" M. Welch, age 78, of Chickasha, Oklahoma, will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 17, 2003, at Trinity Baptist Church. Rev. Randy Robertson, pastor of First Baptist Church, Anadarko, will officiate, assisted by Rev. Billy Elkins, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Chickasha. Al was born on March 26, 1925, in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma, to Alvah M. Welch and Delta Murphy Welch. He died November 14, 2003, at his home in Chickasha. In 1943, before graduating from high school, Al joined the Navy, where he was assigned to the USS Pisa Dora. He rose to the rank of coxswain, where he piloted the captain's gig and LCVP boats on amphibious landings. In the Navy, Al saw action in Attu Kiska. He participated in several major naval conflicts, particularly the battle of Leyte Gulf and the invasion of Okinawa. In the closing moments of World War II, Al was sent to Nagasaki two weeks after the atomic bomb destroyed the city. After an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1946, Al completed his high school education and went on to get a degree in Vocation Agriculture Education at Oklahoma A&M. After completing his degree, Al taught Vocational Agriculture for eight years in Illinois and Oklahoma. The most significant event during this period was Al's acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Savior in December 1958, at the age of 33. As a result, he led his family in the way of salvation. Al then began teaching elementary education in Oklahoma and completed his master's degree in Elementary Education at Southwestern State University, Durant. In 1985, after 33 years of teaching elementary education, Al retired from the Chickasha Public School System. Al married Shirley Smith on May 3, 1947, in Sherman, Texas. Together they had five children and made their home in Chickasha, where he had lived most of his life. Al was an avid Oklahoma Sooner football fan, and his hobby was golf. He instilled the love of the game in his children. However, his greatest joy was his family - he loved them. He was preceded in death by his parents, one sister, Phyllis, and one brother, Jim. Survivors include: Wife: Shirley of the home; Children: Alan of Chickasha, Phillip and wife, Vanda of Oklahoma City, David and wife, Lisa of Chickasha, Denise and husband, Alan Wallace of Lavon, Texas, Kent and wife, Lori of Oklahoma City; Sister: Vinola and husband, Chet Howery of Odessa, Texas; Brother: John and wife, Sharon of Midland, Texas; Brother- in-law: Tom Smith and wife, Louann of Denison, Texas; Ten Grandchildren; Four Great Grandchildren. Interment will be in the Fairlawn Cemetery. Service will be under the direction of McRay Funeral Home. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Chickasha or Trinity Baptist Church. |
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