Ray Welch

Obituary:

Ray A. Welch, 78, of Gilman, passed away on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at home from natural causes. He was born on November 25, 1947, at Victory Memorial Hospital in Stanley, WI, the son of the late Russell and Garnet (Hepfer) Welch. Ray grew up near Gilman and attended area schools; graduating in 1965 from Gilman High. He married Sandra Wagner on June 17, 1967 at Faith Baptist Church in Cornell.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Sandy, his children, Vincent (Sharif) and James (Jodi) both of Sioux Falls, SD, Jonathan (Jessica) of New Richmond, Becca (Chad) Oberle of Hudson, Philip (Katie) of Westby and Melissa (Nick) Phelps of Buffalo, MN, 24 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, his sister, Bonnie (Hilmer) Eckstrom and a brother in law, Dave Markus. Ray is preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Ila, a brother, Neil, a granddaughter, Briella and a grandson, Elijah.

Ray worked as a logger for many years working all over the the state of Wisconsin. He also did custom cabinets and woodworking for family and friends. Ray was all in when he was passionate about something. First and foremost that was God, his wife Sandy, and his children, grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. Over the years he had numerous different things he went all in on: studying the Bible, woodworking, photography, and the Civil War. He also loved anything outdoors including fishing, hunting, bird watching, and taking road trips to different parks, lakes, and wildlife areas.

Ray also enjoyed being around family. He and Sandy would make every possible attempt to be at their kids’ and grandkids’ events. You could see how much he enjoyed the family coming together for any reason like; Thanksgiving, birthdays, graduations, or really any reason to get together.

Some of the lessor-known things that the immediate family would say he liked would be: poetry, music, ice cream, Banquet Chicken, sardines, and maybe even pickled pig’s feet.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2026 at 2 PM at the Plombon funeral home-Stanley. Visitation from 1:00 pm until the time of service. A private family burial was held prior in Yellow River Cemetery.