John C. Welch

John Charles "T-Bone" Welch was born to Zelda and William Welch in Whitehall, MT, before moving to Philipsburg as an infant. He attended Philipsburg Schools and graduated from Granite High School in 1960. He attended The University of Montana before joining the Army in 1963. John married Jeannie Sundberg in 1967 and the couple was soon blessed with two children, Cheri and Tim. The lure of mining and its "Blood Fever" began for him at Cominco. He did both lease and contract mining. He also worked at the Philipsburg sawmill as a sawyer before he began his career working for the town of Philipsburg. T-Bone retired from the city in 2006. Throughout his life John thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his loving family. Both John and Jeannie took great pride in their yard and John's rockwork. He was an avid golfer, fisherman and loved boating at East Fork. John passed away peacefully at Granite Medical Center June 15, 2018. He is survived by wife Jeannie, son Tim (granddaughter CherishLynn), daughter and son-in-law Cheri and Doug Bayer (grandchildren Katie (Travis), Justin and Kayla). He was very happy to have been introduced to his great grandson Waylon before his passing. He is also survived by brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Bill & Jolene Sundberg and Doris & Steve Gilbertson. T-Bone's keen sense of humor, chuckle and impish grin will be missed by numerous relatives and friends. Please join the Welch Family for John's Memorial on Saturday, June 30th at the Philipsburg Fire Hall at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of Flowers, a Fund has been set up for his granddaughter, CherishLynn Welch at Granite Mountain Bank, PO Box 10, Philipsburg, MT 59858 (donations payable to Jeannie Welch).