George Welch

Services will be 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, August 10, 2022 at the First Baptist Church. Visitation will be held Tuesday, August 9, 2022 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Criswell Funeral Home.

George Douglas Welch, a proud 20-year combat veteran of the United States Navy, passed away Thursday August 4 ^th , 2022. The son of Howard Douglas and Leona Louise Welch, George was born in Ada, Oklahoma and grew up on a dairy farm in the Vanoss, Oklahoma area. He was born October 8th, 1938 and was a 1956 graduate of Vanoss High School.

At the age of 17, George enlisted in the Navy. He valued this service highly and attained the rank of Lieutenant before retiring September 1st, 1976. As part of this service, he was stationed at several bases in the US, made multiple deployments on aircraft carriers, served 2 tours in Vietnam during that conflict in the 1960s and logged over 100 air combat missions as an aircrewman. After his service in the Navy, he worked as a parts man at Ada Implement Company, served as a Sunday school teacher and Deacon at Lightning Ridge Baptist Church and 1 ^st Baptist Church in Ada. He was a school board member at Vanoss school for 12 years, routinely volunteered to work at voting poles and regularly visited people who were homebound and veterans at home or in nursing facilities.

George is survived by his wife of 62 years Jessie Welch, two children, Clint Welch, and his wife Julie of Vanoss, Oklahoma, Vicki Shuler and her husband Sam of San Antonio, Texas. George had 4 grandchildren, Brad Banks and his wife Lene of Tulsa, Kaleigh Shuler of San Antonio, Texas, Matthew Frederickson and his wife Robin of Ada, Jessica Trimmer, and her husband Mitchell of Ada. George had 10 great grandchildren, Sarah, George, Benjamin, Joseph, and Gabriel Banks, Ally and Abby Frederickson, Max, Sawyer, and Reese Trimmer. His sister Lowena "Sue" Martin resides in Miami, Oklahoma.

He is preceded in death by parents Howard and Louise Welch and a great grandson Gabriel Banks.

The family requests that in leu of flowers donations be made to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.