Golda Geneva Taylor Welch || Obituary

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Golda Geneva Taylor Welch, age 96, passed away on April 18, 2022, at Pine Tree Assisted Living Center. Fry-Gibbs Funeral Home has charge of the arrangements.  Funeral services will be Friday, April 22nd at 11:00 AM in the Fry-Gibbs Chapel. Visitation will be held one hour before her service begins. A private interment will be in Evergreen Cemetery. Pall Bearers will be her sons, grandson and great-grandsons.

“Goldie” was born July 25, 1925 in Tishamingo, OK, the daughter of Alva Lee and Arizona Mitchell Taylor. She was the youngest of twelve children.  As a small child, she moved with her family to Lamar County, TX where she was raised and lived most of her life. At the time of her death, she was a member of the Blossom Church of Christ where she worshiped faithfully until her failing health prevented her from attending.

In her early years, she worked for Howard Hughes in Houston, where her boys considered her to have been a “Rosie Riveter” as she worked on aircraft during World War II.  She was employed by South-western Bell Telephone Company for ten years. She married William Edward (Edd) Thomas in 1948. Together, they had three boys, David, Eddy and Jerry.  In 1959, Edd & Goldie built the first convenience type store in Paris, Texas on the corner of 7th and Bonham St. She worked hard, side by side with Edd, while raising their three boys (who were truly boys) and maintaining a home.  To say she was just a home maker would be great injustice to Goldie.  She worked at the store, cooked 3 meals a day every day, did the laundry, kept a clean house and never missed any of the boys games.  Edd preceded her in death.

In 1975, Goldie married Billy Joe Welch from Clarksville, Texas.  Bill was the manager of the Cross Arrow Ranch in Red River County at the time of their marriage.  The ranch was later sold to the Crown Prince of Liechtenstein. She hosted the Prince, Hans-Adam and his wife in her home with a “true Texan” hamburger supper. Goldie and Bill were married for 6 years before he was diagnosed with cancer.  He preceded her in death in 1982.

Beginning in the early 1970’s, as David and Eddy owned their own stores Thomas Food Marts & Wag-A-Bag, she would help them any way she could. When the boys sold their stores and started a used car business, East End Auto, while she didn’t know anything about cars, she still helped her boys, mostly as a greeter or receptionist. She also was a provider of some of the best lunches ever served at a used car lot.

Goldie loved to work, whether in the stores or doing her own yard work.  She especially enjoyed riding her lawnmower.  She loved to attend her grandchildren’s sporting events until her health kept her off the fields.  She was loyal Texas Rangers Baseball fan and she loved country music-either of which could be heard most times when entering her house.  She also loved playing dominoes and cards with her friends and family. (and she really enjoyed winning!)

Goldie was one of our unfortunate elders that had to endure the Covid pandemic while in assisted living.  She was legally blind and could not visit “through the window” as the light hurt her eyes. She had to endure several months of only telephone conversations with her family.  This was very hard on her because she was always very connected with her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. She loved her family so much, being isolated helped to hasten her downward health spiral.

She was preceded in death by her parents and all 11 of her siblings-Claudie, Goldman, Sam, Lawrence, Mac Lee, Clara, Beulah, Maudie, Ruby, Pearl and Eunice.  She is survived by her sons, David (Dede), Eddy (Debby) and Jerry (Kathy) : two grandchildren, Dru Thomas and Shanna Thomas, three great-grandchildren,Sydney Thomas, Derrick Thomas(Storm) and Dylan(Chelsea), two great-great-grandchildren, Myles and Mollie Thomas, and many nieces and nephews.  She is also survived by several step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren, whom she loved as her own.