Welker, Mary Louise (Lillibridge) 1943 - 2018

WELKER, LILLIBRIDGE, VICK, HORTE, MEYER, KOLBE, PRICE, GOODYEAR, FITZPATRICK, JANSSEN, DAVIS, MAIN, ROUSE, GREBIN, SWIFT, THOMAS

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 5/19/2024 at 21:00:45

With heavy hearts the family of Mary Louise (Lillibridge) Welker is sad to inform friends and family of her passing March 15, 2018, in Houston, Texas.
She fought a hard fight against liver failure due to Alpha-1 Antitrypsin. We would like to share a tribute to her as we celebrate her life with some cherished memories.

Mary was born Oct. 29, 1943, to Alanson and Adeline (Vick) Lillibridge in Decorah. She graduated from Decorah High School in 1961. Mary grew up very close to her grandparents, Auntie V, Uncle Marlin and many cousins.

Mary cherished her family and her six children. Many of her years were devoted to raising her family. She always made our birthdays extra special by baking our favorite birthday cake. Mom always tried to make holidays memorable. Easter was always celebrated with handmade decorations that she had spent hours making. Many Christmases spent with our grandparents and families in Decorah will always be treasured. We enjoyed years of going to Nordic Fest and indulging in Mabe’s pizza as a family. For many years mom was a Girl Scout leader. We have many fond memories of our trips to Camp Tahigwa with her. We remember many fun picnics, family reunions and camping trips together.

Mom had an art for sewing, which she must have gotten from her mother and grandmothers. We recall the beautiful Halloween costumes she would sew and the matching outfits she put us in. Mom continued to sew through the years. She made her granddaughters gorgeous christening dresses; and when her great-grandchildren came along, she was into knitting blankets.

One of Mom’s biggest loves was Texas. In 1981 Mom spread her wings and flew south to start a new career in landscaping. Mom formed some life-long friendships with her co-workers over the years. She enjoyed raising horses while in Texas and loved the Texas Bluebonnets in spring. She loved it when the family could come home and she enjoyed sharing bits and pieces of Texas with all of us. We have fond memories of trips to San Antonio and Brownsville – plus a few grand memories of crossing over to Mexico for a Corona or two.

Mom had two cats that she loved very much, too – Beepers and Sam I Am. She spoiled them with fudge sickles and believed they could talk to her. When we went to South Padre, Texas, for vacation her cat, Sam I Am, always came along.
Mom’s desire was to retire in Branson. She eventually moved there in 2006 and continued to work in the landscaping industry. For six generations Branson has touched the hearts in our family. Our first trips to Branson consisted of visits to Silver Dollar City, the Shephard of the Hills and Lambert’s Café. Mom always enjoyed having an old-time photo taken at Silver Dollar City. She would proudly hang them in her home just as if they were done by a professional photographer. We loved sitting on her porch over-looking Table Rock Lake just as much as she did.

One last thing: Mom loved Texas A&M and we all just loved football. Most often Thanksgiving dinners were scheduled around the Packer games. We had to go to the local Lake House Pub a time or two to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes or the Wisconsin Badgers play. The walks home from the pub were always an adventure too “priceless at times” and a tradition in which we grew to share with our children.

Our Mom would want us to remember her as a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother (GG for short), daughter, sister, cousin, aunt and friend. She was a strong independent woman – who, at times, was maybe a little too strong; kind of like coffee. She worked hard and enjoyed the little things in life. She would not want us to sweat the small stuff. Mom would tell us to always enjoy life, because life is way too short. She would always remind us to keep a bag packed because you never want to miss your next adventure. In a smiling fashion, she would remind us to “Keep Your Pail Full.” Mostly, she would want us to know that she was proud of us and that she loved all of us very much.

We are thankful for the care in which our Mom received with Dr. Nelson and his staff in Springfield, Mo. Special thanks to the UW Health Transplant Team in Madison, Wis. for all their support, help and guidance. Thank you to her care team of Dr. Lenz and Dr. Siddiqui, in Appleton, Wis.; they were always there for us. Thank you to Barnes Jewish in St Louis, Mo. for looking after our Mom. With deepest gratitude and sincere thanks we appreciate everything that Dr. Galati and his entire staff did for our Mom while she was at Houston Methodist Hospital.

Mary L. (Lillibridge) Welker is survived by five of her wonderful children: Debra Horte of Virginia Beach, Va., Deann (Dennis) Meyer of Chilton, Wis., Dannice (Kevin) Kolbe of Rowley, Dannell Price of Independence, Devon (Dinorah) Goodyear of Baytown, Texas; nine beautiful grandchildren plus one (granddaughter) due in July: Drake (Christy) Fitzpatrick, Amanda Horte, Crystal Janssen Davis, Cody Davis and his fiancé Briah McVey, Clint Davis, Colton (Shorty) Davis and his sweetheart Claire Wichert, Courtney (Dan) Main, Trent Price, and Justin Rouse; two treasured great-grandchildren, Wyatt Alanson Main and Caroline Amelia Main; five blessed step-grandchildren; five blessed step-great-grandchildren. Mary also is survived by her siblings: Jean (John) Grebin of Spillville, Jim (Renee) Lillibridge of Decorah and Jim Swift of Rolla, Mo.; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Mary was preceded in death by a son, David James Goodyear; her parents, Alanson and Adeline (Vick) Lillibridge; our dad, Dennis Jay Goodyear; her sister, Kay Swift; previous husband, Henry Thomas; her beloved and loyal cats, Beepers and Sam I Am. May they all RIP.

We will be forever grateful that our lives have been enriched by the years that we shared with our mother. May we remember one of Mom’s favorite songs, “Toes,” by Zac Brown. We hope she is somewhere with her toes in the water, ass in the sand. Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in her hand. Life is good today, Life is good today! Hopefully ours will be too. Cheers!

Mom is at peace and she was ready to go; this is comforting to all of us. In keeping with the wishes of our mom, there will be no funeral services.

In loving memory of our mom, who never hung up the phone without saying “I love you.”

We love you, always and forever,
Your children

Source: Decorah Newspapers April 2, 2018