Dateline: November 20, 2008

Jo Bearden Welty, 76, Friday, November 14, 2008, in Lewisville.

Services were held at the First Baptist Church in Clarendon at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 17, 2008. Rev. Eddy Helms, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of Tulia, and Rev. Lance Wood, pastor of First Baptist Church of Clarendon, officiated. Burial was held in the family plot in the Shamrock Cemetery in Shamrock at 2:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Jo Welty was born Nelly Jo Bearden Oct 20 1932 in Anson, Texas to Mary and Elmer Bearden. She grew up in and around Anson and moved to Shamrock in her early teens. She met and married Charles Burton ”Buck” Welty on December 25, 1949 in Shamrock. Buck, her husband and best friend for over 58 years, preceded her in death on July 11, 2008. Jo went back to college in 1961 after her three kids had started school taking classes while her children were in school and during the summers. She did her student teaching at Humphrey’s Highland Elementary School in the spring of 1967. Jo graduated from West Texas State University with a Bachelors of Science in1967 as an honors member of Alpha Chi Omega Honors Society. She continued her college education while working, taking evening and summer classes. She earned her master’s degree in Education from WTSU in 1974. She taught elementary music and science in Amarillo for 27 years from 1967 to 1992. 26 of those years were at Lawndale Elementary, where she was teaching second generations when she retired in 1992. While teaching music, she served as President of Kodaly Educators of Texas, was Southern Division Chairman of Organization of America Kodaly Educators, and was very active in Texas Music Educators Association. Jo and her daughter, Joburta spent several years working on her Kodaly retrivial guide to obtain her certification in 1988 for Kodaly Methods of Teaching. She was a charter member of the certification program for the Kodaly Center of America. Jo enjoyed camping, water skiing, snow skiing and traveling with her family. She was also a master quilter, completing a quilt for each of her children and grandchildren. Jo was a member of First Baptist Church Clarendon since 1971. She served as a Sunday School Teacher and taught Via the Television Ministry for the last four years. She and her husband, Buck, were charter members of Eastridge Baptist Church in 1955. Jo was active in the Woman’s Missionary Union at several Amarillo Churches. She taught at the Women’s Job Corps at My Father’s House in Lubbock. She and her husband Buck spent their retirement years working with the Texas Baptist Men Camp Builders. In 2004, they spent a month in Gateshead, England.

She is preceded in death by her husband on July 11, 2008; her parents, multiple aunts, uncles and cousins

Survivors include her children Dan Welty of Coppell and wife Terri; Joburta and Eddy Helms of Tulia, Melody and Dane Jones of Lewisville; grandchildren Austin and Melissa Welty of Coppel, Melinda and Chris Huddleston of Lubbock; Carrie and Jay Tippen of Philipi West Virginia; Andra and Joel Vaughn of Canyon, Evan Jones of Lewisville; a great grandson, Hal Huddleston of Lubbock; a sister-in-law, Billie Welty of Amarillo; three nephews, Michael Welty Jr. of Washburn, Jeff Welty of Dallas, Michael Welty III of Lubbock, Robert Hampton of Englewood, Fl., a niece Debra Dow of Cheney WA, and many family members.