WELTON, James Martin 1974-2008

WELTON, JONES

Posted By: K. Kittleson
Date: 10/22/2008 at 11:36:04

James Martin "Jim" Welton, age 34, of Durango, Colorado, and formerly of Charles City, Floyd county, Iowa, died Friday, October 17, 2008, from injuries sustained in a mountain climbing accident in Zion National Park in Utah.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Charles City, with the Rev. Carl Ries celebrating the Mass. Internment will take place at a later date at Calvary Cemetery in Charles City. The date for an additional memorial service in the Salt Lake City area, has yet to be determined.

Friends may greet the family 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, at Hugeback & Chenoweth Funeral Home in New Hampton, where there will be a 7 p.m. Scripture service.

James was born on February 21, 1974, in Osage, Mitchell county, Iowa, the son of Douglass and Malinda (Jones) Welton. He attended Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Charles City and was a 1992 graduate of Charles City High School. He then attended Loras College in Dubuque.

He appeared in several drama performances, played high school basketball and was in the German-American Partnership Program. He was an Eagle Scout and remained active in scouts after high school, where he developed his love for climbing. He was most recently self-employed as an ISA certified arborist.

James had to live wherever there were mountains to climb. He loved the wilderness, was a mountain first-responder, a seasoned mountain climber and camper and recently completed an
ultra-marathon. James made climbing look easy; he was a flowing climber with an effortless
style.

He often questioned if he was living his life in the "correct" way, or if he should pay more
mind to societal things like a house, a stable income, settling down and more. He gave
unconditional love and friendship and an honest desire to be a true friend. He was a life-long
learner as well as a natural teacher. He has absolutely positively affected each person who had the pleasure of knowing him. James left us doing what he loved, but more than that he blazed his path though life with an untarnished idealism. In the end, perhaps James had actually figured out life and was called away for something more important.

Survivors include his parents, Doug and Malinda Welton of New Hampton; his companion, Jamie Fields of Salt Lake City, Utah; two sisters, Jennifer Welton of Ames and Meredith Welton Voight (Nathan) of Cedar Rapids; one brother, Nathaniel Welton of Rochester, Minn.; his maternal grandparents, Martin and Cleo Jones of Charles City; his paternal grandmother, Betty Welton of New Hampton; an uncle Richard (Diane) Welton of Mora, Minn.; an aunt, Tara Lane of Nashua; and several cousins.

[Original obituary published in the Globe Gazette online, Oct 22, 2008 --
www.globegazette.com]