Albert Welke, 99, a longtime resident of Grays Harbor passed away on January 5, 2013, at the home of his son, Donald, in Cerritos, California, where he had been living for the past three and a half years. He was born on February 10, 1913, in Saskatchewan, Canada, where his parents were wheat farmers. He later married Alice Maybel Hove and moved to Vancouver where he served in the reserve Canadian Army during World War II. He had two children there, Bonnie and Donald. Later in the early 1950’s he migrated to the Harbor to work as a machinist for Lambs Grays Harbor where he worked for 25 years, until he retired.
He is preceded in death by his first wife, Alice Maybel Hove; his second wife, Olga Ness; his daughter, Bonnie; and his two sisters, Florence and Ida. He is survived by his son, Donald; daughter-in-law, Carmen; and their children, Albert Jr. Donald Jr. and Hollie. He is also survived by Bonnie’s son, Tom Mylroie or New York, Donna Kennerly of Vancouver, Harvey Nagel of Alberta and Patricia Rhodes of Saskatchewan; and cousins, Gordon and Esther Stewart of Abbotsford.