Lela Frances (Johnson) Welch

© Trout Funeral Home

Submitted by: Sharon

© Trout Funeral Home

Lela Frances Welch
April 21, 1930 - January 11, 2023

Lela Frances Johnson Welch, died on January 11, 2023, in Tulsa, OK. Viewing will be from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Wednesday, January 18, 2023. A Funeral Ceremony will be held at 2:00 PM, Thursday, January 19, 2023, at Albright United Methodist Church, with Reverends Lois and Francis Bartley officiating. Burial will immediately follow at Resthaven Memorial Park. Arrangements are under the direction of Trout Funeral Home & Crematory, 505 W. Grand Ave, Ponca City, OK, 74601.

Lela was born in Maramec, OK, on April 21, 1930, to Reverend Fred L. and Dana L. (Travelstead) Johnson. Her father was a United Brethren minister and her mother, a school teacher. Both of them were from families homesteading in the Guymon, OK, area. Lela Frances went by Lela growing up, but chose to go by Frances as an adult.

Frances was the fifth of six children. The family moved often due to her parents ministries. After a year in Maramec, the family moved to Bartlesville, OK. She also lived in Shawnee, Woodward, Enid, and Dacoma, OK. Frances moved to Ponca City to live with her sister, Ivy, before her senior year. She graduated from Ponca City High School in 1948.

On August 29, 1948, Frances married Leroy Edwin Welch. Leroy came from a long line of brick and stone masons. Leroy built their beloved home, which was to be their lifelong residence, a block North of the Ponca City High School Stadium. Frances and Leroy's honeymoon was in Colorado. The couple would return here for future trips. They both loved the beauty and majesty of the mountains.

Frances and Leroy loved teaching children's Sunday School together at Albright United Methodist Church. With her family, she enjoyed community concerts and trips to Oklahoma City and Tulsa for cultural events.

In the 1970's, Frances became interested in fitness and health. She worked out and took belly dancing classes at the local YMCA. Frances enjoyed reading about homeopathic and other alternative medical treatments. She loved spending time with her brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews at the Johnson Farm near Guymon. Frances enjoyed fashion and design. She was known for her impeccable taste in interior design and dress.

Frances was a caregiver for her husband until his death in January 2016. She and Leroy liked to recycle so as to "save the planet". They watched worship services on TV. Frances also had a great compassion for the disadvantaged and the lonely.

Frances was preceded in death by her parents, husband, three brothers, two sisters and their spouses. She is survived by: her three children, Jay Welch, Dana E. Whitsitt and Fred H. Welch; two grandsons, Chad Whitsitt and Brad Whitsitt; one brother-in-law, Lloyd Welch; four great-grandchildren and four step great-grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews, and friend, Nancy Moore.


|Resthaven Cemetery| |Kay County Cemetery Page| |Home|

---

This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma Cemeteries

The information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.