Fred Welch

Fred Welch, age 76, of New Castle, DE passed away peacefully, while surrounded by his family on Saturday, March 29, 2014 at his residence. Born in Wilmington, Delaware on April 15, 1937, Fred was the son of the late Lewis B. Welch and Essie Gleason Welch. He proudly served his country in the US Army Reserve. Fred worked for 39 years in the telephone equipment maintenance and installation field and was employed by the former Diamond State Telephone Company, AT&T and Lucent Technologies. He retired in 1990. Fred was an active member of Liberty Fellowship Church in New Castle, a longtime volunteer at the Grand Opera House and a member of the Diamond State Telephone Pioneers. He was a man of many interests who enjoyed photography and also building and maintaining computers. He was involved for many years in the drag racing community and was a member of the Wilmington Automotive Activities Club. Fred had a vast collection of NASCAR collectibles and enjoyed hunting for new items to add to it. He gave of his time and talents for many years to the New Castle Little League where he served as a coach and in various other positions. In his leisure time, he greatly enjoyed surf fishing at Cape Hatteras and looked forward to joining his many friends from both his grade school and drag racing days for lunch each month. Fred will be dearly missed by all who knew him. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Elaine Ryan and his grandson, Darius K. Welch. Fred is survived by his beloved wife of 45 years, Barbara Weir Welch; children, April Thomas (Larry) of Pittsgrove, NJ, H. Fred Welch, Jr. (Lisa) of Wilmington, DE and Dawn M. Welch (Kenny Wallace, Jr.) of New Castle, DE; niece, Luann Weir (Ed) of Lafayette, CO; grandchildren, PVT Jordan Welch, PVT Andrew Brown, Cassidy Welch, Nicholas Welch, Ivey Wallace, Jack Welch, Emily Thomas, Colby Thomas and Riley Thomas. A funeral service will be held at 12 Noon on Thursday, April 3, 2014, at the Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 1000 N. DuPont Parkway, New Castle, DE, where friends and family may visit from 10 am until 12 Noon. Interment will follow in Gracelawn Memorial Park, 2220 N. DuPont Parkway, New Castle, DE. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Liberty Fellowship Church, P.O. Box 11483, Wilmington, DE 19850.