William J. Welt of Cottage Grove, Ore., died Feb. 9 due to complications related to age, he was 84.
Bill was born Nov. 11, 1937, in Roseburg, Ore., to Austin and Rachel (Lexvold) Welt. He graduated from Roseburg High School in 1955 and served in the U.S. Navy as the ship’s clerk on the USS Floyd County from 1956 – 1958. He married Suzanne I. Fisher on Aug. 22, 1959, in Roseburg. Suzanne passed in 2012, they were married 53 years.
Early in his career, Bill was a radio operator for Pacific Northwest Bell, he later managed the Union 76 Oil Petroleum Distributor in Roseburg before founding William J. Welt Petroleum in Cottage Grove in 1968. Bill was the youngest of seven children and was very determined to succeed and worked hard his entire life. He owned many businesses over the years, he never retired and worked six days a week up until the day he passed.
Bill was a lifelong member of the Elks, he enjoyed travel, collecting vintage cars and fishing on the Umpqua River. He was an Oregon Ducks football fan and loved watching classic western movies.
Survivors include a son, Bradley (Sally) Welt of Cottage Grove; a daughter, Brenda Welt of Springfield; a granddaughter, Harper Welt of Springfield and many nieces and nephews from the Welt and Fisher clans.
A visitation will be held from 3-5 p.m., Friday, March 4, at Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel, Cottage Grove. The Funeral Service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at Riverside Community Church in Cottage Grove. Private interment at Sears Cemetery in Cottage Grove.
There will be a live stream on March 5. Go to smithlundmills.com/obituaries, open Bill’s obituary, and click on the link.
