Dorothy Jones Welker, World War II Veteran, passed away peacefully Aug. 27, 2024 at the age of 104.
She was born and raised in Linn, to parents Mary Ferguson Jones and Dr. John F. Jones.
Dorothy graduated from Linn High School. She attended Central Methodist College in Fayette and then the University of Missouri at Columbia, graduating with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing.
After becoming an RN she continued to live in Columbia and worked at the University Hospital as an operating room nurse.
With America fighting in WWII, Dorothy enlisted and served her country in the U.S. Navy. She was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy Nurse Corps stationed in Corona, Calif. at the Corona Naval Hospital. The Corona Naval Hospital provided care for all the rheumatic fever and tuberculosis patients in the entire U.S. Navy.
During her service, Dorothy was assigned to the terminal TB ward where she cared for terminally ill servicemen, many who had been prisoners of war. After her honorable discharge (1946) she returned to the University Hospital in Columbia as Assistant Director of Nurses and later Director of Nurses and remained in the Naval Reserve four more years
Dorothy was united in marriage to her sweetheart Kenneth (Poss) Welker and they relocated to Kansas City, Kan. They were blessed with two daughters. Dorothy eventually returned to nursing. She worked in the Kansas City, Kan. school system for 21 years as the school nurse for Arrowhead Jr. High/ Middle School as well as Stony Point North Elementary School. She enjoyed her tenure as a school nurse being around children and helping to care for them in their young lives. Nursing was always a passion for Dorothy and she was grateful for the opportunity to serve.
Dorothy enjoyed a long full life. She was devoted to her family and nursing career. In her retirement, she traveled extensively throughout Europe and the United States. She loved music, especially classical and musical theatre. Her beautiful knitting and needlework projects have been enjoyed by family and friends. She also knitted items to donate to charities. And, Dorothy was an avid KC Royals and KC Chiefs fan.
Dorothy has been a member of St John’s Methodist Church in Linn, Stephens Memorial Methodist Church, Trinity Community Methodist Church and most recently Wyandotte Methodist Church, all in Kansas City, Kan.
She was preceded in death by parents, Mary and John; husband, Kenneth Welker; half- sister, Mary Belle Griffith; half-brother, John Paul Jones; and beloved cousins, nephews, and nieces; and many friends.
Dorothy is survived by daughters, Carol Welker and husband Lee Roisum and Marla Welker and husband Glenn Arber; great-nieces; great-nephews; cousins; and special friends.
A Celebration of Life service was held Sept. 12 in Kansas City followed by graveside military honors at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Kansas City, Kan.
