Ray Glenn Welch

Raymond Glen Welch (Ray) (98) of Gainesville, Florida passed away peacefully on August 26, 2023 at E. T. York Haven Hospice, due to Dementia. Ray was predeceased in 2003 by Ethelyn (Lynn), his loving and devoted wife of 56 years. Ray is survived by his son Howard and daughter Barbara (Richard) along with his grandchildren Michele (Tommy) and Russel as well as his great grandsons Tanner and Ryker.
He will be missed by many including his long-time sweetheart and dance partner Joyce and his wonderful, compassionate and dedicated caregiver, Felecia.
Ray endured/suffered an emotionally difficult childhood with the loss of his mother at age 12 and having been displaced from his home in Seattle, Washington to St. Louis, Missouri to live with uncaring distant relatives. These early painful and traumatic experiences shaped him into an independent, determined, strong-minded man in his adult life. As a proud World War II Navy veteran, Ray served on two CVE aircraft carriers called Baby Flat Tops. During World War II he was engaged in both the Atlantic and Pacific war theatres. Ray was a cox wain running fast boats and also a gunner. As a gunner he survived a harrowing battle in the Pacific with multiple Kamikaze plane attacks, in which he shot down an enemy plane that exploded upon impact. As a result, the explosion opened up a gaping 18-foot by 45-foot hole under the waterline of the CVE, which caused seawater to pour into the vessel. Miraculously his fellow sailors were able jump right in to shore up and seal off the life-threatening damage and the CVE was able to limp back into a port for repairs.
Having survived the war, Ray was honorably discharged and eventually settled in Jacksonville, Florida where he met, fell in love with, and married Ethelyn. Using his Veteran benefits Ray then trained to became a Master Watchmaker and a Marine Chronometer specialist. Later on, Ray focused and channeled his drive and determination in many ways. He utilized his watchmaking skills and business skills when he opened Welch's Watch Repair Service and Jewelry Store in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. After that he also set up and ran a multi- faceted home route delivery business, Charles Chips in Gainesville, Florida. This involved setting up intricate residential and commercial routes in not only Alachua County but also in 15 surrounding Florida counties. He trained route salesmen and drivers, procured multiple trucks to run the routes and personally performed the mechanical maintenance on the many vehicles, all while inventorying and ordering products, and bookkeeping. In addition to all these duties he built two warehouses and bought another warehouse in Ocala.
Ray had a very busy work life, but at the same time he also made many friends through his Charles Chips business and his face would light up when these many customers would recall and remember him as the "Charlie Chip Man." Customers welcomed Ray into their homes and a little bit into their lives as well. Not only that but once Ray was a silent anonymous hero on his route. On that particular day Ray went to the customer's door and knocked but no one was home. However, he smelled smoke and went around to the back door of the house to check. Someone had inadvertently left a pan of grease on a red-hot stove burner, which was smoking and about to catch on fire. Ray went into the kitchen, moved the pan and turned off the burner and went on to run his route. No one ever knew he did this, but he probably saved someone's house.
Ray's intelligence and energy coupled with all of the skills and talents he possessed were used in his businesses. In his younger life he had acquired skills of paint and auto body work, auto mechanic, salesperson, as well as carpentry, woodworking, floor installation, and aspects of home renovation. Ray humbly joked about his being a jack of all trades, but master of none, however he mastered everything he set out to do. Ray worked hard all his life to provide security and stability for his family, something which he had not experienced in his own early life. However, later in his life when he had more time for recreation, Ray re-discovered the joy and fun of ballroom dancing. Many friends and family members remember his love and passion for ballroom dancing, which he still pursued until his passing. Despite his severe hearing loss and physical impairments, it was obvious to those who knew him that Ray always carried a song in his heart and a love of dancing.
We are greatly saddened with the passing of Ray who was a complex and tough but also tender-hearted man who touched everyone's hearts who knew him. He is now finally at peace with not only his wife, Lynn, but with all the others we have loved and lost.
A funeral is planned for September 20, 2023 at 2:00 PM at Forest Meadows Funeral Home.