Margaret E. Welch

Margaret E. Welch, 92, a former Hamlet resident who had lived at Shady Rest and, for the past two years, was at Miller’s Merry Manor, Plymouth, died of natural causes, at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday, October 14, 2001. Margaret was born on January 2, 1909, in Bourbon, the daughter of Lewis O. and Pearl J. Rosebrough Hurford. She graduated from Plymouth High School with the class of 1926. On October 3, 1928, Margaret and Cleo A. Welch were married in Plymouth. Cleo preceded her in death on September 3, 1980. A homemaker, Margaret assisted her husband in his Standard Oil Agency business for 33 years, retiring in 1968. She was known as an avid basketball fan and was actively involved in both Hamlet and Plymouth United Methodist churches and in their ladies’ circles. She was also a member of the Eastern Star, Knox Chapter organization. Margaret is survived by two sons and a daughter. Her sons are Merle J. and Carol Welch, Plymouth and Richard A. and Joan Welch, LaPorte. Her daughter, Jean Shrout, also lives in LaPorte. Four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren also survive. Her granddaughters are: Mary Beth Reel, LaPorte, Susan Kitt, Elkhart and Karen Welch, Middletown, Conn. Her grandson is Steven Welch, Plymouth. A sister, Evelyn Milliser, Plymouth, also survives. Margaret was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and a brother, Lewis Hurford. Visitation for friends and family will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 16, 2001, in the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, October 17, 2001, at 2 p.m. in the funeral home. The Rev. Dr. Dean Fager, pastor of the First United Methodist Church, Plymouth, will officiate. Burial will be in New Oakhill Cemetery, Plymouth. Memorial gifts may be made to the First United Methodist Church, Plymouth, in Margaret’s memory.