Obituary: M. Gordon Welch

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[M. Gordon Welch, 81, of Norris City, passed away at 11:55 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011, at Fountainview Nursing Home in Eldorado.

Gordon was born Jan. 13, 1930 in Los Banos, Calif., the son of Orville and Gertrude Welch. He married Alta Lee (Cox) Patton on Aug. 28, 1982, and she survives. Gordon had worked as a heavy equipment operator, building cross country pipeline as part of the International Union of Operating Engineers No. 3 in Oakland, Calif. He attended Omaha General Baptist Church.

Gordon is survived by his wife of 29 years, Alta Lee Welch of Norris City; a daughter and son-in-law, Vicki and Chuck Kandle of Lake Havasu, Ariz.; a son, Ronny Welch of Tacoma, Wash.; three stepdaughters and a son-in-law, Peggy and John Sutton, Donna Patton and Cande Mitchell, all of Norris City; a stepson, George Patton of Huntington Beach, Calif.; two grandchildren, Charles Gordon "Chuckie" Kandle of Lake Havasu, Ariz. and Jennifer Dux and her husband, Brad, of Mountain View, Calif.; four stepgrandchildren, Sherri Swanson of St. Louis, Mo., Monica Patton of Nashville, Tenn., Craig Sutton of Bettendorf, Iowa and Hannah Mitchell of Norris City; one great-grandchild, Ella Page Dux; and five great-stepgrandchildren, Jacob and Laura Swanson and Jillian, Tyler and Ashlyn Sutton.

Gordon was preceded in death by two sisters, Evelyn Cook and Nelva Coelho; and two brothers, Bud Welch and Darrell Welch.

Services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011, at Omaha General Baptist Church, with Mike Fields and the Rev. Blaine Felty officiating. Burial will be in Palestine No. 2 Cemetery in Omaha. Friends may call from 11 a.m. to service time on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011, at Omaha General Baptist Church. For more information, one may visit the Internet site www.campbellfuneralservices.com