John Neil Welton was born in Tucson, Arizona, the youngest child of Philip Welton and June Meade. He has an older sister Kay, and two older brothers, Mike and Pat. John grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas where he was very athletic, excelling in baseball, football and basketball.

After high school, Dad joined the Army, serving overseas during the Vietnam conflict as a Special Forces Green Beret. He then went on to college at West Texas State University in Canyon, Texas before heading off to Washington D.C. to pursue a Masters Degree at George Washington University. He mostly lived his life in San Antonio and Austin. He married, had four children, worked numerous jobs, did quite a bit of traveling, played lots of golf, and told fabulous stories. He finally retired last year after 15 years fundraising for the Salvation Army.

Dad had a wonderful life and is survived by his loving children; Leslie, Sean, Sarah, and Jenny, their spouses, and his 7 spirited grandchildren. We will all miss him very much.