Joan Welfelt passed away April 11, 2022 at her home in
Montrose, Colorado. She was born in Halstead, Kansas August 1, 1923 to Roderick
O. Moore, Sr. and Mable (Windmiller) Moore. She is the youngest of three
children and was raised on a farm northeast of Mount Hope, Kansas. During the
Great Depression, they moved to Florida, California and Wichita, Kansas to find
work.
By the time Joan was in grade school, her family later moved
back to the family farm. While on the farm, Joan became a life-long animal
lover. Her favorite horse as a teenager was her Morgan, Frolic. She graduated
from Halstead (Kansas) High School in 1942. Joan attended Southwestern College
in Winfield, Kansas and the University of Kansas where she was a member of the
Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
During WWII, Joan moved back to Winfield to live with her
sister Virginia and son Lovell. She met Jack Welfelt soon after he had returned
from serving in the U.S. Navy during WWII. They were engaged in March of 1946
and were married in June that same year. They lived in Winfield until the
summer of 1967.
Work took Jack and Joan to Kansas City in August of 1967
until their return to Winfield in 1974. Joan worked at the local Sears store in
Winfield until her retirement in 1984. After retirement, she and Jack moved to
Beaver Lake, Arkansas and resided there until 2003 when they relocated to
Montrose, Colorado to be closer to family.
Along with countless dogs and cats over the years, Joan
loved golfing, fishing, gardening, cooking, knitting and sewing. She followed
televised sports including Kansas City Chiefs football and the University of
Kansas basketball. Most years she was the first to have her NCAA basketball
bracket filled out. She served as a hospital volunteer while raising her family
in Winfield and later in retirement in Bentonville, Arkansas. After the death
of her husband, she volunteered weekly at Heirlooms for Hospice in Montrose for
fifteen years.
Joan?s life was all about people. She had an infectious
smile and a warm spirit. She never met a stranger and would often strike up
conversations with people in public settings; inevitably finding common ground
with them.
Joan is preceded in death by her parents and her husband
Jack. She is survived by two siblings, Roderick Moore, Jr. of Denver, North
Carolina and Virginia Jarvis of Winfield. Three sons survive; William and
Jeanne of Montrose, Colorado; John and Marilyn of Delta, Colorado and David and
Judy of Newton, Kansas. She leaves behind nine grandchildren, thirteen
great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandsons.
She will be laid to rest next to her husband in the Welfelt
plot.
A graveside memorial service will be held Sunday, May 29,
2022 at 4 PM in in Highland Cemetery, Winfield. Family and friends are welcome
to attend. Memorial gifts may be designated for HopeWest (Hospice) 725 S. 4th
St, Montrose, CO 81401, (970) 240-7734 or at: https://www.hopewestco.org/donate
