Mary Welder Urban

Mary Margaret Welder Urban, 84, of Dayton, died December 28, 2013, at the St. Joseph Hospital in Bryan. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 9:00 a.m., Thursday, January 2, 2014, at the St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church with burial following at the Liberty Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., with rosary at 7 p.m. Wednesday, at the funeral home. Services are under the direction of Pace-Stancil Funeral Home in Dayton. Mary was born July 7, 1929 in Houston, to parents; William Duncan Welder, Sr. and Rosella Sarah Wilcox Welder. Mary was a spirited and adventurous girl growing up in the Heights of Houston and La Porte, Texas. In 1953 she married the love of her life Elmo A. Urban. They were married for 44 years and together raised seven children in faith and love while living across the continental United States, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Canada and on their ranch in Dayton. Mary started quilting when she lived in Canada and over the years she designed and made unique and beautiful quilts. She was an enthusiastic member of the Dayton Quilt Guild for many years. She was also a gifted artist and painter and truly enjoyed the camaraderie of her fellow Dayton Art League members. Her love of genealogy led her to volunteer at the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty where she annotated her great-grandfather William B. Duncan’s Civil War diary. Having traced her ancestors back to the time of our country’s founding as well as the Texas Revolution, she was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. With a family full of Aggies, she enjoyed her time and involvement with the Aggie Mom’s of Liberty County. She loved intellectual challenges which led her to be a lifelong fan of crossword puzzles. Mary inspired her children and grandchildren with a love of poetry, literature, music and a history of their family in Texas. Her greatest accomplishment, however, was that she was such a success at her full-time job or her vocation, which she loved; she was a mother. In the past year or so, she asked all of her children (actually a proclamation and question) at least a couple of times, “We sure had fun when you guys where kids. Didn’t we?” We sure did, Mom! Mrs. Urban was preceded in death by her father: William Duncan Welder, Sr., mother: Rosella Sarah Wilcox Welder, husband: Elmo A. Urban, son: John H. Urban, Daughter: Anne Urban Sproat, grandson: Russell Travis Janner, brother: William Duncan Welder, Jr., and sister: Rosella Ann Welder Jolly and nephew: William Duncan Welder, III. She is survived by her daughters: Monica Urban Richardson and husband Gary of College Station and Sally Urban Reyes and husband John David of Fulshear, and Katy Urban Janner and husband Russell of Snook, sons: Robert Urban and wife Amanda of Corpus Christi and Joseph Urban and wife Juanita of Carrizo Springs, daughter-in-law: Audrey Urban of Dayton, son-in-law: James Sproat of Spring, sister-in-law: Rickie Welder of Dayton, 20 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. The family would like to thank Helen Caballero and Rosetta Mallet for their loving care and spiritual support of Mrs. Urban. The family would also like to also thank Tish Embra the care she provided. In lieu of usual floral remembrances, the family requests that donations be made either to the Good Council at Good Counsel, Inc., PO Box 6068, Hoboken NJ 07030, (201) 795-0637or to Missionaries of the Poor, PO Box 29893, Atlanta, Georgia 30359, in Mary’s name. Leave your thoughts and memories for the family in the guestbook at http://www.pace-stancil.com/