Tony Welker, age 60, passed away in his Kenneth City home on July 26th, 2023.
Tony had a fondness for the simpler times, often reminiscing about his brothers and the mischief they caused together. He was born in Texas on November 9th, 1962, but spent most of his life in Florida. He met his wife Donna through a mutual friend in 1985 and they quickly married. In the 36 years that they built their life together, Tony became a husband, father, and grandfather. He worked in construction, fire sprinklers, and facility maintenance for most of those years and helped coach his sons’ little league team. He taught his sons how to bowl, and along with Donna, they often played in leagues and tournaments as a family, even traveling to Pensacola. For a short time, he also worked alongside his oldest son at Rudy’s Rentals, and they shared many fond memories of those months. One fun memory the family always shared was camping at Lake Door in Ocala. Riding the jet ski, fishing, and coming face to face with a bug that could withstand anything you threw at it. That same trip, his sons learned that they shouldn’t cook hot dogs over citronella tiki torches as they don’t taste good at all. Later in life, he entered a drawing and was selected to go and visit a boat manufacturer where they showed him and others how boats were made. In this same trip, he was given the opportunity to select from three different boat keys, and whichever key turned on the boat, that person was now the proud owner of a new boat. That person was Tony Welker. He enjoyed that boat for years, taking his sons and other people fishing whenever time allowed.
In recent years Tony spent most of his time testing new recipes, and becoming a savant of all movies and tv shows. One thing he particularly enjoyed was riding his custom trike down to Biff Burger on bike night with his friends. He was a huge fan of the Buccaneers and often enjoyed a friendly rivalry with his wife, a die-hard Patriots fan. He maintained his sense of humor and booming laugh through the good and bad times in his life. What he was most proud of was his family, often talking about the loving and caring nature of his wife Donna and the sons they had together. The people who were closest to Tony knew nothing made him happier than talking about his grandson and he took any opportunity to tell them stories. Tony will be sorely missed by his family and friends; may he rest in peace.
Tony was preceded in death by his wife Donna Crowley-Welker and 2 brothers John Cody Welker and Owen (JR) King.
He is survived by his sons Corey and Joshua, grandson Max, brother Danny, sister Sheena, sister Crystal, and sister Rhonda, and many other family members and friends.
