Winnie Lee Hilton Weldon was born April 19, 1923, in San Augustine, Texas, to Lee and Nancy Hilton. She passed away on October 18, 2023 in Manvel, Texas at the age of 100, always desiring to serve others. As the youngest of 7 children, she lived in San Augustine until they moved to Port Arthur, Texas after the death of her father. The Hiltons moved into the neighborhood where they became close friends with the Weldon family. She attended Thomas Jefferson High School, graduating in 1941.
She married the love of her life, Albert Jack Weldon, Sr., after he called to ask her to marry him from the Corpus Christi Naval Base where he was stationed after joining the armed forces for World War 2. They married in the Naval Base Chapel on October 13, 1943 and left by train the next morning for Jacksonville, Florida to continue Jack’s training.
During the war, she worked in the lab at Texaco in Port Arthur. After the war ended, she moved to Baton Rouge and worked at the courthouse while Jack attended LSU. They returned to Port Arthur in 1950 and raised their four children in the same block on 12th Street where they had met.
Winnie enjoyed being active in church, camping, weekends at the farm in San Augustine, the camp in Sour Lake and traveling with Jack. His career took them to Anacortes, Washington in the 1970s where they spent many weekends in the mountains of Washington and Canada. They also resided several years in Tenby, Wales from 1978 to 1981 where they enjoyed visiting the UK and Europe.
Winnie went to Lamar University and earned her LVN certification while her youngest child was still in college. She also spent many years in service to her church, First Baptist Church of Port Neches and as part of the Volunteer Association for the Medical Center of Southeast Texas. She retired from these organizations when she moved to Manvel, Texas in 2013.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Albert Jack Weldon, Sr., and her sons, Albert Jack Weldon, Jr. and Leonard Patrick Weldon. She is survived by Glen (Kathryn) Weldon, Kathy (Jerry) Boehm, Vera Weldon, grandchildren, Nicholas Weldon, Jonathan (Jessica) Weldon, Stephanie (Daniel) Reynolds, Stacy (Derek) Purser, Christopher (Kristin) Weldon, Glen Weldon, and John Weldon; Great Grandchildren Brennan Reynolds, Elaina Purser, Samantha Purser, Colton Purser, Alice Weldon and James Weldon.
Visitation will be on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 from 5:00 PM till 7:00 PM at Clayton Thompson Funeral Home in Groves. Service to honor Winnie’s life will be at 11:00 AM Wednesday, October 25, 2023 in the Thompson Memorial Chapel at Clayton Thompson. Burial will follow in Oak Bluff Memorial Park in Port Neches under the direction of Clayton Thompson.