Noble Welch, 80, Hardware Store Owner

At age 70, Noble Andrew Welch enjoyed a brief reign as one of Seattle's "Most Eligible Bachelors" in a local television promotion. He was shown charming interviewers and dancing nearly nonstop at a Widows and Widowers club party.

"He had a lot of personality, was active and real good-looking, like Roy Rogers, only bigger," said daughter Lorna Rogers of Seattle.

But his ownership of Welch's Fuel and Hardware Store, a 50-year fixture in the Central Area, earned him lasting local fame.

"He loved the store," said Rogers. "He knew everyone in the neighborhood and everyone knew the store. When I was a nurse at Harborview, I was treating this little woman in her 90s who asked if I was related to the Welch family. When I told her yes, she sat bolt upright and told me all about my grandmother, and what went on in the store."

Mr. Welch died of cardiac arrest Monday (June 23). He was 80.

Born in Summit, N.D., he moved to Seattle as a boy and attended Garfield High School. He helped his father in the wood- and coal-delivery business that was begun in the 1920s. During World War II he was a Seattle firefighter.

"After the war he and his brothers realized there was a need for a hardware store because there was a lot of prosperity in the city, and people were wanting to buy tools," said his brother-in-law, Jack Rothwell of Seattle, who runs the store.

"The brothers opened up a fuel and hardware store at 22nd Avenue and South Jackson Street. It started as a small business and just grew. They built new buildings and took over old ones, including an early-day Safeway."

Mr. Welch became sole owner of the store in 1984.

The business provided a good living, enabling Mr. Welch, who lived near Seward Park, to buy a summer home on Lake Sammamish and a getaway lot on the Yakima River near Cle Elum, Kittitas County. He liked to golf, fish, and float the river on inner tubes.

He had always enjoyed traveling. In the 1930s he worked on a tramp steamer that cruised to Asia. In the 1950s and 1960s he took his family on car trips to 47 of the 50 states. Later he toured Europe and South America.

"He wrote a book about his family and his travels," said his daughter. "There was a part about coming from South Dakota in a Model T. When the car came to a hill, they had to get out and walk while their father threw it into reverse and backed it over. He had a lot of stories."

Other survivors include his daughters Barbara Fuller and Gail Rothwell, both of Seattle; his friend Betty Rasmussen, Seattle; and six grandchildren. His wife of 35 years, Marion Welch, died in 1977.

Services have been held. Memorials may go to the Millionair Club, 2515 Western Ave., Seattle, WA 98121.