David Allan Welty

On Sunday, August 21, 2022 David Allan Welty, 81, of Westwood Hills, Kansas passed peacefully from this life surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren. A Memorial will be held later this Fall, his favorite time of year.  

David was born on October 9, 1940 in Cleveland, Ohio to Robert and Betty Welty. He and his sister, Roberta, grew up in Cleveland where he began his journey to becoming a true renaissance man. David had many adventurous opportunities growing up and based off of his many stories he took advantage of every single one.  

It all began as a 14-year-old boy throwing papers for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, investing in stocks and working odd jobs in a Hungarian bakery that led to other jobs like working at The Cleveland Zoo and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He often told a story about giving guided tours at the Zoo and educating a group of the visually impaired visitors about elephants when he figured out how to educate them with his friend, “Frida the elephant,” by letting them touch her trunk and feel her skin. He spent another summer documenting and cataloging animal inhabitants on Lake Erie’s Kelleys Island where he discovered 2 undocumented species of snakes, the Island Water Snake and a 6-foot Fox Snake that earned him a mention in the Ditmar’s Reptiles of the World book for the largest Fox Snake ever caught. 

David went on to attend Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and graduated in 1963 after receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Soon after he was offered a job in Kansas City with Hallmark Cards as an artist where he worked for over 30 years until he retired in 2000 as Group Marketing Manager of New Product Development. He was also a Veteran of the Air Force Reserves where he trained as a Fireman towards the end of the Vietnam War. He met the love of his life Linda Marie (Jackson) Welty while working at Hallmark. They were married on June 11, 1966, in Midland TX. 

In life he was an adventurous man, taking many canoe and rafting trips, shooting down Brush Creek during floods, sky diving and sport fishing. He was an avid builder and remodeler who bought property outside of Oskaloosa, KS where he designed and built a home on weekends. He loved ‘The Farm’ wholeheartedly and that was his spiritual place. 

He is survived by his wife, Linda Jackson Welty, his sister, Roberta Haley, his children, Allyn Bruty, Erin Schaper, John Welty, Brian Welty and many grandchildren, nieces and nephews.