Mary Lu (Barnes) Welborn, 87, a loving wife, mother and grandmother, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Sunday, December 22, 2019, in Austin, Texas with her husband holding her hand and family by her side.
Mary Lu was born on May 29, 1932 in Allen, Texas to Harry Austin, a veteran of WW1, and Nannie (Bull) Barnes. Her father co-owned a local gasoline station and worked in the Veterans Hospital. Her mother was a homemaker who raised Mary Lu and her two brothers, Harry Austin (H.A.) Barnes, Jr. and Fred Mack Barnes. Mary Lu and her family resided at 501 W. Davis Street, McKinney, Texas throughout her childhood and she graduated from Boyd High School in 1950.
During high school, Mary Lu met and fell in love with her high school sweetheart Willis Doyle Welborn, a 1951 graduate of Princeton High School. They were married on July 3, 1952 in McKinney, Texas and were blessed with two sons, John Austin and Brian Scot Welborn. The family moved to Richardson, Texas in 1960 and joined the First Baptist Church of Richardson. Mary Lu and Doyle both encouraged their sons to set goals in their lives but the cornerstone of their parenting was teaching them the Truth, Way and Life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Mary Lu and Doyle were happily married and lived in the Austin, Texas area when Mary was called home by the Lord.
After High School, Mary Lu began her working career as a legal secretary in the McKinney law firm of Moses & Truett. Although working several years in the technology industry at Collins Radio Company in Richardson, Texas, Mary Lu’s interest in law and politics lead her to working on the 1974 Texas Governor campaign for Republican gubernatorial nominee Jim Granberry after the family moved to Austin, Texas in 1971. A woman understanding the importance of upholding Christian moral values during the changing times of the 1970’s and 1980’s, Mary Lu continued her career in politics supporting the Associated Republicans of Texas (ART) as an Executive Assistant/Bookkeeper with Director Mr. Norman Newton until her retirement in the early 1990’s. Mary cherished her lifelong friendship with Norman and his wife Barbara Newton.
Outside of work, Mary Lu loved life, family, and friends, and had an amazing sense of humor. She never missed an occasion to attend celebrations and accomplishments of her children and grandchildren. She and Doyle would attend every celebration to the extent they were capable. In addition, Mary Lu always had a passion for pets. She always adopted cat and dogs, strays or otherwise. During the 1960’s, she raised registered Collies, “Penny and Thunder”, which her two sons, John and Brian, remember fondly to this day.
Mary Lu is survived by her husband, Willis Doyle; her children and grandchildren; John Austin and Kimberly Ann Welborn of Austin Texas, and their children Sarah Elizabeth Welborn and Jacob Austin Welborn both of Austin, Texas and John Daniel Affatato of Amarillo, Texas; Brian Scot and Mary Elizabeth Welborn of Huntsville, Texas, and their children Brian Scot Welborn II, Thomas Doyle Welborn, and Drew Mitchell Welborn all of Huntsville, Texas; and multiple nieces and nephews on both sides of her family whom she loved dearly.
She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers.
A graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, January 4, 2019 at Ridgeview Memorial Park, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas 75013. Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. prior to the service at Turrentine-Jackson Morrow Funeral Home, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas 75013.