
| Name | William Stanley “Stanley” WELCH [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13] | |
| Birth | 11 Sep 1951 | Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina |
| Gender | Male | |
| HIST | of Sumter, South Carolina STANLEY WELCH Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2018 6:00 am Stanley Welch, 66, husband of Millie Jones Welch, died peacefully at his home surrounded by his family on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018, after a courageous battle with ALS. Stanley was born on Sept. 11, 1951, in Sumter, to the late William Doyle Welch and Corinne Elizabeth Welch of Sumter. Stanley is being remembered as a loving, devoted and much loved son, son-in-law, husband, father, grandfather and brother. Stanley graduated from Edmunds High School and Baptist College (Charleston Southern). Some of his closest friends were teammates from a highly-touted state championship football team. Those men have always had a special bond and never tired of gathering to renew and continue longtime friendships. In 1981, he and Millie opened Stanley Welch Clothiers on Guignard Drive. He was the consummate professional in providing men's fine clothing as attested by the diverse and loyal clientele he served in Sumter, throughout South Carolina, and beyond. He enjoyed providing quality clothing that looked good, but even more, he enjoyed providing impeccable service. In 1988, they added a women's fine clothing store and provided the same quality clothing and service until his health began to decline. Stanley knew Christ as his Savior. For many years, he was a faithful member of Grace Baptist Church, where he and Millie were the directors of the young married couples' Sunday school department. Later he was a faithful member of First Baptist Church and for several years was a teacher in the fifth grade Sunday school class. Stanley was a longtime member of the Sumter Rotary Club. Stanley never met a stranger and had a huge circle of friends. He loved people and people loved being around him. He was a good listener, had a quick but subtle wit and could always tell a good story. Stanley is survived by his beloved wife of 40 years, Millie Jones Welch; his beloved daughters and their families, Elizabeth Welch Klosterman (Bryan) of Columbia, Ann Miller Welch Garris (Robert) of Columbia and Katie Welch Shaw (Burns) of Sumter. He was "Poppa Stan" to Charlie, Thomas and Anna Klosterman, John, Ben and Mills Garris, and to a sixth grandson due in November. He is also survived by his sisters, Brenda Welch Carroll of Brystol, Tennessee, and Linda Kay Welch Boykin of Bamberg. Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. today at First Baptist Church with Dr. Dan Barber officiating. Burial will follow at Pinewood Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 1 to 3 p.m. today in the First Baptist Church fellowship hall. Nephews will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be teammates from his Edmunds High School football team. Memorial gifts may be made to First Baptist Church, 107 E. Liberty St., Sumter, SC 29150. The family wishes to thank the caregivers at Amedysis Hospice for their kind and compassionate care. Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386. Clothing shop will close after 35 years Katie Welch Shaw and her father, Stanley Welch, run the women's and men's clothing store Stanley Welch Clothiers at 434 N. Guignard Drive. After 35 years in business, Stanley Welch will close his store in the next two to three months. "I always praise the Lord for everything but especially for my clients," Stanley Welch said. KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM Posted Sunday, July 26, 2015 6:00 am BY JIM HILLEY JIM@THEITEM.COM After more than three decades, Stanley Welch Clothiers will be closing its doors in the next 60 to 90 days, said owner Stanley Welch. "I have been here 35 years and seen a lot of crazy stuff," he said. During those years, Welch said he prospered because of his unique way of doing things. "The way I look at things and do things is a little differently; that has made my life a success," he said. "Everybody is looking for something different." Welch said what he has most enjoyed was building relationships with his clients, who live not only in Sumter, but also throughout South Carolina and the Southeast. "I've enjoyed educating my customers on how to build their wardrobe around their lifestyle," he said. "Everybody has a different lifestyle, and you should suit who you are. "I have had such unbelievable friendships, and my customers have been so loyal." Former South Carolina state Sen. John Land said he has bought clothes from Welch since before he had his own shop. "He was always just wonderful," Land said. "He always stayed current and bought good-quality stuff. It was a pleasure doing business with him." Land said he was always a "fair person of outstanding character and a great salesman." "I remember he knew my exact size," Land said. "Sometimes he would come by my office in Manning and leave two sets of clothing that would fit me perfectly, right down to the shoes. Then I had to decide whether to keep them or take them back," Land said. "I usually kept them." Land said he considers Welch a close friend. "He is a great haberdasher who knows his business well," he said. Welch has also been loyal to his hometown as much as his customers have been loyal to him. "People tell me I should have moved my store to Charleston or Greenville," he said. Welch did not want to leave Sumter, he said. "Sumter is a unique town," he said. "Being in the town you grew up in has been more important to me than being somewhere I didn't grow up in." Welch was raised in a business family, as his mother ran The Children's Store on Main Street where he said he often helped his mom in the shop. "I knew the Lord wanted me to be in this business," he said. His parents grew up in Turbeville, and he fondly recalled spending time on his grandfather's farm there. "I learned to love horses," he said. "I love to ride horses." Welch was a football player in high school and played on the legendary 1969 Edmunds High School team which was undefeated and untied and won the state championship. "I was a running back along with C.A. Wilson," he said. "The newspapers always called us the 'Golden Twins,' even though I am white and he is black." After graduating high school, Welch said he turned down a full scholarship at Appalachian State because he wanted to go to a bigger school. "That was one of my worst mistakes," he said. Instead he played football for a year at Gordon Military College in Augusta. Welch, however, said he was too small to get anywhere in college football. The last game of the season was at University of Tennessee, he said, and he called his dad and told him he should come see the game because it would be his last. "The big college players were beating me up," he said. "My dad said, 'Well, you're fast; you can outrun them.'" "'That's what I have been doing,'" he replied. "I promised him I would score two touchdowns if he came, and I did." A few years later, Welch was attending a Wilson Hall basketball game with a friend when he was stricken by one of the cheerleaders. He knew her father, legendary P-15's baseball coach Bernie Jones, and he asked the girl if she would ask her father if he could take her out even though he was five years older. "He said 'yes,'" Welch said. After dating on and off for a while, he said, he married Millie Jones. They have three daughters and four grandchildren, all boys. Welch said his wife never cared much for the clothing business and instead is a school teacher. After college, Welch said he inquired about a job at one of the area's finest clothiers, Abram Brody. "I thought it would be hard to get a job with him," Welch said. "I called him, and he said he knew who I was and to be at work in the morning." Welch wanted to open his own store, and when the building on Guignard Drive became available in 1980, he jumped at the chance. The store has been a fixture in Sumter since then. Welch said he will miss taking care of his clients. "We have had so much laughter and fun," he said. "I always praise the Lord for everything but especially for my clients." [5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13] | |
| Occupation | owns Standley Welch Clothiers, Sumter, South Carolina [2] | |
| _UID | E6A50AABEB094FBB950722483EE13A821FF4 | |
| Death | 18 Aug 2018 | at his home, (Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina) |
| Burial | 21 Aug 2018 | Pinewood Cemetery, Pinewood, Sumter County, South Carolina [13] |
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| Person ID | I123481 | Singleton and Related Families |
| Last Modified | 23 Mar 2023 | |
| Father | William Doyle WELCH, b. 1925 d. Bef 4 Jun 2006 (Age < 81 years) | |
| Mother | Corrine/Corinne Elizabeth WHEELER, b. 28 Dec 1928, New Zion, South Carolina d. 24 May 2008, Providence Hospital, Columbia, South Carolina (Age 79 years) | |
| _UID | E5F8BD29950449678EA3BD122733B8E20018 | |
| _UID | E5F8BD29950449678EA3BD122733B8E20018 | |
| Family ID | F59640 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family | Lois Miller “Millie” JONES | |||||||
| Marriage | 27 May 1978 | Sumter County, South Carolina [3] |
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| _UID | 909E88982A4E4E9DA4BF7B52C77F033C66FD | |||||||
| _UID | 909E88982A4E4E9DA4BF7B52C77F033C66FD | |||||||
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| Family ID | F85026 | Group Sheet | Family Chart | ||||||
| Last Modified | 11 May 2004 | |||||||
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