Fred G Welfare

Mr. Welfare, a native of Clemmons, NC, had also lived in Durham and Wilmington, NC; Lynchburg, VA; and Clinton, TN. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Nancy Cook Welfare; five children, Rhonda Welfare of Staunton, Onna McKlennon of Amherst, VA, Eric Welfare (Pam) of Lynchburg, VA; Alan Welfare (Jennifer) of Gastonia, NC, and Sandy Welfare (Jennifer) of Staunton, VA; four grandsons, Zachary Wooldridge, Brent Robertson, Joshua Welfare, and Nicholas Welfare; an honorary granddaughter, LeeAnn George; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, J. Frank and Mable Welfare; his three siblings, Howard Welfare, Mary Jarvis and Helen Graham; and his granddaughter, Julia Merritt.Mr. Welfare was a veteran of the U.S. Navy (1949-1953) and a proud graduate of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, where he received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1957 and a master’s in nuclear engineering in 1959. He retired from The General Electric Company in Wilmington in 1996 after a long career in nuclear criticality safety. He also worked for Babcock and Wilcox in Lynchburg and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN. Mr. Welfare was supportive of his children’s individual interests and activities, but also was a big believer in spending time as a family. The Welfares spent many weekends tent camping and going on day-long bicycling and canoeing adventures, usually with a family friend or two along. He was an active volunteer in children’s and youth sports leagues and in the churches to which he belonged through the years, including Temple Baptist Church in Durham, First Baptist Church in Wilmington, Calvary Baptist Church in Lynchburg, and First Baptist Church in Clinton. One of his favorite activities was listening to Nancy play the piano, and after retirement he learned to operate digital recording equipment so he could make and distribute CDs of her music. His lifelong passion was shooting skeet and he particularly loved the Buccaneer Gun Club near Wilmington, where he spent many hours both as a shooter and a volunteer. He and Nancy were avid motorcyclists and campers. After his retirement, they traveled extensively, often by motorcycle or in the RV they acquired after the children were grown. He continued to be interested in politics and world events, carefully reading each issue of the daily newspaper (and working the crossword), Time Magazine, and National Geographic cover-to-cover until shortly before his death. He was a voracious reader, especially of mystery and spy novels, biographies, historical fiction, early science fiction, and pretty much anything else he could get his hands on. Known for his sense of humor and fun, he loved a good story, especially if the punchline included a pun. A memorial service was held at 2 PM on Saturday, April 28, at The Legacy at North Augusta, 1410A N. Augusta St., Staunton, VA 24401. A graveside service will be held at a later time at Westlawn Gardens of Memory, Clemmons, NC. The family requests memorials be made to Mosaic Handbell Ensemble, 1050 Cemetery Rd., McGaheysville, VA 22840, or Camp Thunderbird Send a Kid to Camp Campaign, YMCA of Greater Charlotte, 1020 Euclid Ave., Charlotte, NC 28202.