William Lester Welch, 101, peacefully passed away Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, at Lewiston Transitional Care of Cascadia with his daughter, Lynn, by his side.

He was born April 18, 1921, (along with his twin brother, Wilbur Lee) on his mother’s 20th birthday at home, on Welch Island (also called Turkey Island) in the middle of the Clearwater River near Spalding, which is immediately downstream of the present Arrow Bridge on U.S. Highway 12. Wilbur died that day due to complications during birth. When Les was about 5 years old, his father sold the island and the family moved to Orofino, with grandfather James Polk Welch (Union Civil War veteran), his parents, W.O. “Shorty” Welch (WWI Navy veteran), mother, Grace F. Welch (WWII Army WAC veteran) and younger brothers Leonard and Keith. Les and his younger brothers grew up and graduated high school in Orofino.

Les was always fascinated with airplanes. His father wrote in his journal that when Les was about 4 years old, on a trip into Orofino, a plane was flying overhead, and Les fell out of the moving car as he was trying to get a glimpse of the plane.

Les starting building model airplanes when he was 12. When he was a teenager, he and his brother Leonard built an “airplane” in the barn and a ramp to launch it off the barn roof; they persuaded their youngest brother, Keith, to be the pilot. Their dad stopped them before they could launch it with their brother on board.

Another time, he and Leonard convinced Keith to jump out of the barn with an umbrella. They told him he would float down from the barn loft like a parachute, and Keith broke his arm in the attempt. Keith later joined the Army as a paratrooper, serving in WWII in Europe and in Korea with the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Rangers.

Les joined the U.S. Navy in 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He served in the Navy as a radioman for a Navy photo intelligence air squadron in the Pacific during the war. His father wrote in his journal about how scared he was with Les’ assignment during the War. His squadron would fly over Japanese-occupied islands taking reconnaissance photographs before the allied counter offensives, and other naval engagements across the Pacific Theater of operations. He was honorably discharged in December 1945 and returned to Idaho.

After the war, he attended the University of Idaho where he met Bob Miller (from Lewiston, Maine). In June 1947, the two of them paddled a canoe from Seattle to Alaska. They made their way up the coast paddling and camping along the shoreline until reaching Juneau, Alaska. He and Bob stayed at the Alaska governor’s house for a time. For his story of the canoe trip in their paper, the New York Herald Tribune flew them to New York City from Alaska on the newspaper’s airplane after they sold their canoe in Alaska. He then made his way to Idaho by hitchhiking to Kansas and met up with his brother Leonard, who was still in the Navy and had just bought a new car. They traveled together back to Orofino in Leonard’s car. Leonard was a Navy fighter pilot and retired as commander in the 1960s after serving during WWII in the Pacific Theater and Korea. Back in Orofino, Les went to work at the “O” Mill for a short time, then worked for his uncle Joe at the Richardson Mill in Orofino. After that, he got a job at Potlatch Mill in Lewiston starting on the lumber side and moved on to a position on the pulp and paper side as an instrument technician until he retired after 34 years at the mill.

Les met his wife, Ruth, who was from Vancouver, B.C., Canada, down visiting her sister, Mary Smathers, in May of 1952. He took her to the rodeo, where they sat on the river bank and talked all day. After knowing each other for three days, they decided to get married, which they did in August of 1952. They had two children, Douglas Edward Welch and Grace Lynn Welch. He loved to take Ruth dancing to all the different Grange halls around the area.

He enjoyed taking his family and friends camping, swimming, skiing, floating the Locsha, kayaking or paddle boarding. Because he worked shift work at the mill, it gave him plenty of time to load his kids, neighborhood kids and Kipp (the dog) to go to Arrow Beach on the Clearwater River to swim in the summertime. They also frequented the North Fork of the Clearwater before Dworshak Dam was built. He earned his pilot license at age 52 and, shortly after, bought a four-seater airplane with a friend.

Les was an avid reader and builder in his spare time. He remodeled his house, dug out the basement by hand, did small additions to other family houses, built fiberglass kayaks, paddle boards, a catamaran sailboat and two hang gliders. He built and repaired small homebuilt airplanes, cabinets and furniture. He did this kind of work until his mid-90s, when he had trouble lifting things in his shop.

After Ruth died in 1995, he and a friend flew to Alaska, stopping at 100 Mile House in British Columbia, Canada, to visit some of his nieces and nephews. They also flew to Oshkosh, Wis., to attend the Experimental Aircraft Association Fly Inn. Well into his 70s, Les enjoyed hiking. One of his hiking trips took him from Moose Creek Ranger Station, Idaho, to Darby, Mont.

He remarried in 1997 to Dixie (Reed) and was living at home until 2021 when he moved in with his daughter after a couple of falls. His wife, Dixie, passed away in spring 2021. Both of his younger brothers have passed away.

He was a life member of the Lewiston Veterans of Foreign Wars Sourdough Post 10043 and life member of the Lewiston American Legion Post 13. He was also a member of the Lewiston Elks Lodge, local Moose Lodge and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).

He is survived by his son, Douglas E. (Nini) Welch, (captain, U.S. Navy, retired) and daughter, Grace Lynn Welch, who is retired from the city of Lewiston Parks and Recreation Department. He is also survived by five grandchildren: Cory O. G. Welch (Marlene), Julia J. Mayhugh (Alex), Annie L. Tai (Nao), Leslie A. Welch and James W. D. Welch (Marissa) and seven great-grandchildren, Raven Welch, Zara Kruise, Leaf Tai, Rain Tai, Zephie Tai, Caleb Welch and Freyja Mayhugh.

There will be a viewing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Friday, Jan. 20, at Mountain View Funeral Home Lewis-Clark Memorial Gardens.

The funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m., the same day, at the Mountain View Funeral Home Chapel.

Donations may be made in Les Welch’s name to the Lewiston VFW Sourdough Post 10043, 1104 Warner Ave, Lewiston, Idaho 83501 in place of flowers.