Thomas William Welch

A service will be held at 1pm on Saturday, September 15, 2012 at Skyline Memorial Gardens for Thomas W. Welch who passed away at age 79 on September 1, 2012 in Portland, Oregon. Thomas was born on December 3, 1932 in Portland, Oregon to Thomas and Helen (McDevitt) Welch. He was raised in the Grant High School area. As a youth, Tom and his brother Jim enjoyed building go-carts, trips to Cannon Beach in the summers and childhood shenanigans. Starting in his youth, Thomas played baseball for Grant High School, from which he graduated in 1950.

He went on to study at the University of Portland; he then transferred to the University of Oregon. Tom began working for First National Bank part time, where he met Marjorie Johnson. They were married in 1954. Shortly after their nuptials, Tom and Marjorie’s lives changed when his education was placed on hold and he was drafted by the Army. Tom was deployed to Germany where he trained soldiers along the Russian border during the Cold War. Marjorie, not wanting to be far from her husband made the journey to Germany herself and set up an apartment home in the middle of the Danube River. About four years later, Tom was honorably discharged and both he and Marjorie returned to the states, where they began renting an apartment near Portland State University so Tom could continue his studies. He earned his bachelor’s degree on June 15, 1958 from PSU.

After his graduation Tom and Marjorie purchased a home in Cedar Hills where they decided to start a family. They were blessed with three daughters, Marti, Shelley and Molly. Tom raced cars and loved going to the races. He was a long time member of Sports Car Club of America. As his daughters joked, “from a young age we were raised in the pits.” Even after he quit racing himself, he still continued to attend the races and loved the energy from being there.

Not long after his graduation from PSU Tom began working full time for First National Bank and held many different positions throughout his career there. He started out helping clients with mortgages and loans and then eventually transitioned to interior design and revamping their office spaces. He then moved on to a career with Nike as a line trainer and eventually retired from there in the early 90’s.

In 1991 Marjorie passed away and Tom continued on at their home in Cedar Mill. After the loss of Marjorie, Tom began a friendship with Linda, his neighbor whom he had known since 1974. Linda’s husband had passed a few years earlier. Tom and Linda enjoyed many social engagements and trips together- including those to Victoria, B.C. and many of the National Parks – Yellowstone being Tom’s l favorite. Eventually, their longtime friendship transitioned and they were married in 1997.

Tom was an avid golfer and his favorite course was Sunset in Forest Grove. He also had a deep appreciation for Native American culture, lifestyle and art. But most of all Tom shined as a grandfather. His greatest pleasure was spending time with his grandchildren, M & M’s and chocolates were always stashed nearby to treat them.

Tom is survived by his wife, Linda; daughters, Molly Hall, Marti Welch, Shelley Yazzolino; two stepdaughters, Misty and Mariah; 8 grandchildren and 5 step grandchildren. Tom is remembered for being a loving husband and family man. The family suggests donations be made in Tom’s name to two charities that he felt deeply about, Special Olympics of Oregon or the Salvation Army. Arrangements by Skyline Memorial Gardens.