BRIAN CHARLES WELCH - 1960 - 2010.....CELEBRATING HIS LIFE AS WE MOURN HIS DEATH...........

The Funeral Memorial Service at the Bluebonnet Hills Chapel in Colleyville, Texas, was a fitting tribute to a truly good man,  BRIAN CHARLES WELCH.  An overflow crowd of more than 300 persons filled the Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park Funeral Chapel, for a nearly two hour Celebration of Life Service, that truly remembered and affirmed the fullness of this outstanding man's life.  The local Unitarian Pastor, the Reverend Dennis Hamilton, presided over the Service and delivered a eulogy describing Brian's life journey.  A well organized photographic slide show was presented as was an instrumental interlude, and then four of Brian's long time friends and flying colleagues spoke for upwards of ten to fifteen minutes each; about their experiences with Brian - flying, jogging, sharing in his family life with Kim, Nicola, and Dylan, serving with him in the United States Air Force in England, and in the 1991 Gulf War, even playing chess with him before and during the nearly ten years he valiantly struggled with ALS - Lou Gehrig's Disease.  Then the time came for me to be the final speaker, in which I spoke of our Associated Students Incorporated experiences, our Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity experiences, and told the "Voice of God" story; a designation of Brian's deep and commanding voice, given to him at age 19, when he, Joe Gibson, and I, appeared on KXTV Channel 10 in Sacramento's, "A New Morning" program with host Jean LaMotte.  Jean was so taken with the depth of Brian's voice, she declared him to be, "The Voice of God".  Following the Funeral Memorial Service, Brian's wife and children invited a sizable group of those present to their home for a Dinner of Brian's favorite meal.  The meal Kim cooked for him the first time, when they were dating more than a quarter of a century ago : Lasagne, Salad, Red Wine, and Chocolate Cake.  It was the dinner meal she continued to prepare for him on his birthday and special occasions since that first time.  Curtis and I returned to our hotel at 8:30 pm, and I am chillaxing before a restful night's sleep, with a 12:25 pm flight back to Sacramento tomorrow.  Part One of Brian Welch's Memorial Services are done, my Christmas Days conclude in about sixteen hours, and a new year of priestly and pastoral ministry awaits me back at OLOL...........Celebrating Christmas Texas Style,   Fr.  Troy 

.....The Marriott's Town Place Suites we are staying at in Colleyville, still have their Christmas Tree standing in the foyer entrance of the hotel, glowing with a rainbow of Christmas Lights !!!  YEAH !!!.....