William Lloyd Welter

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Michael Panbehchi on April 4, 2009:

I knew Mr. Welter all of my life. He was my best friend's dad. He reminded me of one of those cavalry officers that I would see on TV who would ride in and save the day. He was a man's man and could do anything. He also had the habit of showing up when you most needed him. When I hit a deer on 199-the first time that ever happened to me, he was the first person I saw. When I was failing math-I am a history major-he stepped in and helped me there. Billy once told me that being with his dad was his safe harbor, a refuge from the storm. When he said this I thought of our childhood. One of my fondest memories is of a day when Billy and I were around 8 or 9 years old. Col. Welter took us out for a drive in his convertible. Before I could blink we were zipping up Jamestown Road with Col. Welter operating the gas and brakes and Billy in his lap steering the car! Initially, I was very nervous, we were 8! But I then looked up at Billy's dad and he had his pipe between his teeth - he wore a broad smile and was laughing. He was just beaming! At that moment I felt so secure. I also felt empowered. Col Welter always let us know that we could do anything. When Bill said that being with his Dad was his safe harbor, I understood instantly what he meant. Recently Mr. Welter offered to help my son learn to ride a bike. To me it was simply natural for the man who, 30+ years ago showed me that you can be young and steer a car, to show my son how to ride a bike. My mom says that when a person dies, time and distance mean nothing. That person can be everywhere all of the time. So, today for me this means that for all of us, me, Mrs. Welter, Melissa, Ginny, Mary, Billy all the grandkids, Joey and friends, that now with Mr. Welter in Heaven looking out for us - everywhere we go is our safe harbor.

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