Lance Welling

In memory of Lance Welling

November 3, 1939 – April 3, 2010

  

Earlier this month we said goodbye to Lance Welling, reliable volunteer and friend to many at World Bird Sanctuary.

Lance was encouraged to volunteer at World Bird Sanctuary by his sister-in-law, Patti Sonntag, who has been a volunteer at World Bird Sanctuary for many years.  In February 2002 Lance joined “The Tuesday Crew” .  From then on, he diligently worked at World Bird Sanctuary on many projects – most of them electrical – with his close friend Don Marcinkiewicz.  Lance and Don would quietly go about their work, every Tuesday, come rain, shine and even snow.  Lance’s volunteer duties extended beyond World Bird Sanctuary – he was also a committed volunteer for the St. Vincent DePaul Society and a dedicated usher at Mass on Sunday afternoons.

Lance is remembered by family and friends as a loving husband, a helpful and involved dad and a caring friend.  He was an enthusiastic softball coach, a gourmet shrimp fryer and champion pretzel consumer!  Most importantly, as fellow Tuesday Crew members Don and Bill will testify, Lance was a legendary fisherman.  In fact, the only time he never showed up for ‘work’ at WBS was when he was away on one of his much-loved fishing trips.

It was an honor to have Lance on our team and we will remember him for many years to come.  Every time we turn on a light switch in the Wildlife Hospital, every time we enjoy the cool respite of the overhead fans in the Administrative Offices, every time we hear the extractor fans hard at work in our food preparation kitchens, and every time we walk up the lighted steps from the Nature Center when it’s dark outside.