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Obituaries

Rev. Thomas B. Welch Jr. March 31, 1999, Elizabethton Star, Elizabethton, TN, transcribed by, Tina Oneyear   Rev. Thomas B. Welch Jr., 76, of Columbia, S.C., died Sunday, March 28, 1999, after a long illness. Rev. Welch was a native of Dallas Texas, and a son of the late Thomas Benjamin and Elizabeth Wells Welch. He was raised in Goliad, Texas and spent six years with the U.S. Navy, enlisting prior to World War II and staying for the duration. He served on the USS Henry T. Allen troop ship, the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain, and saw action in both the European and South Pacific theaters of war. Rev. Welch was a graduate of the University of Corpus Christi and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1949, and for nearly 50 years served as pastor of Southern Baptist churches in Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Illinois, Florida and South Carolina. From 1977-1984, he pastored Cedar Creek Baptist Church in Nichols, S.C. After retirement, he served as interim pastor at Friendship Baptist Church in Gresham. He also served as interim pastor for International Baptist Church in Hamburg, Germany and the Calvary Baptist Church in Augsburg, Germany. More recently he served as interim pastor at Mt. Elon Baptist Church in Hopkins. Rev. Welch also wrote for several devotional publications, such as Our Daily Bread, Home Life and the Baptist Bulletin Service. He belonged to several civic clubs, including the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs, as well as the VFW Post #6122 and American Legion Post #0089, both of Mullins. Survivors include his wife, Audrey Blevins Welch, Columbia, S.C.; three sons, Thomas Welch III, St. Louis, Mo., Rodney Welch, Elgin, and Kevin B. Welch, Columbia, S.C.; a sister, Ada Sue Stephens, Goliad, Texas; four grandchildren, Rachel, Robert, Caroline and Katie; two daughters-in-law, Diane Welch and Robin Welch; and a special mother-in-law, Ruth Greene Blevins. Funeral services and interment will be held Thursday in Columbia. Arrangements will be jointly handled by Talbert-Shives Funeral Home of Columbia and Meares Funeral Home of Mullins (803) 754-6290.