Rita (Stewart) Welborn

Rita Welborn of Longview, Texas was born in Rio Hondo, Texas on January 17, 1941, and went into God’s hands on November 13, 2019. She was raised in the Texas Rio Grande Valley until the family moved to McKinney, Texas where she graduated from McKinney High School in 1958. During high school she met W. R. Welborn who she was married to for 62 years. Rita and W.R. moved from McKinney to Longview in 1973 with their son, Dayne, and have remained there for the rest of her life. Upon moving to Longview, she and her husband opened Longview Yamaha. In 1977, Rita and W.R. co-founded W.R. Welborn and Son, Inc. where she served as secretary/treasurer for forty plus years.
In Rita’s younger years, she was active in 4H where she was a state champion food demonstrator in 1957. She was also an active member of the Longview chapter of the American Business Woman’s Association in which she was elected Woman of the Year and chapter president in 1983.
Rita was bilingual, an avid reader of true crime novels, a terrific cook, and always full of witty expressions. In her later years, she and W.R. enjoyed many weekend road trips together. Rita always took care of others and was lovingly unselfish.
Rita was preceded in death by her parents, Ronald and Ruth Stewart. She is survived by her husband, W.R. Welborn; son, Dayne Welborn and wife, Tracey; grandchildren, Brooks and Miranda Welborn, all of Longview; and sister, Karen McClure of Sugar Land, TX.
A Life Celebration will be held Saturday, November 16, 2019, in the Chapel of Welch Funeral Home at 10 o'clock in the morning. The family will receive friends for a time of visitation beginning at 9 o'clock.
The family would like to offer special thanks to Dr. Sreeman Jampana, Dr. Kash Vahdat, Dr. Matt Holcomb, Dr. Bill Torres, Dr. Rama Koya, Dr. Bernard Taylor, Dr. Stacey Holder and all of the staff at Heart'sWay Hospice and Longview Cancer Center. In lieu of flowers, we request donations be made in memory of Rita to Heart'sWay Hospice of Northeast Texas, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, or a non profit organization of your choice.
Rita spent a lifetime looking as pretty as the moon and as bright as the stars.