Paul R. Welter

Paul R. Welter, 88, of Kearney, died Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at Brookdale of Kearney Northridge Senior Living under the care of Asera Care Hospice and the Northridge staff. A service celebrating his life will be held at First Baptist Church, Kearney Tuesday, December 27 at 11 a.m. with Pastor Stan Murdoch officiating. Memorials are suggested to The Building Fund, First Baptist Church Kearney. Paul was born on a farm near Westmoreland, Kansas on August 31, 1928 to Edward and Elsie (Tibbetts) Welter. He graduated from Westmoreland High School. He served as a Counterintelligence agent in the United States Army from 1951 to 1953. He married Lillian Wagner of Topeka, KS on September 8, 1951. They were married for 64 years until her death on January 16, 2016. Paul earned degrees from Kansas State University, Manhattan; Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California; Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas; and the University of South Dakota, Vermillion. He served as a teacher and counselor in Kansas schools for 10 years. In 1968 he accepted a position as a professor in the Counseling and School Psychology Department at the University of Nebraska at Kearney where he taught for 24 years. He was also a counseling psychologist and life transitions counselor in Kearney. Dr. Welter authored six books. He wrote “Growing Down” columns for Faith at Work magazine, “Family” columns for The Nebraska Trucker, and “On Staying Married” columns for the Kearney Hub. He was a member of the American Psychological Association and the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy. In college he made a decision to live his life as a disciple of Jesus. His missions in the Kingdom of God included making known Jesus’ high view of children. Paul’s radio program “Learning from Children,” was aired on KRVN, Lexington, for 15 years and on KNCK, Concordia, Kansas, for 10 years. Another mission was making known the questioning method of Jesus. He worked to accomplish these and other missions through his writing and the 600 workshops he led throughout the United States. A central mission was his wife, children, grandchildren, great- grandchildren and his many friends all of whom, by their wisdom, taught him a great deal about love and life. Celebrating Paul’s life are his children and spouses, Stephen and Catherine Welter of Novato, California, Kathy Welter of Bakersfield, California, Susan and Doug Frerichs of Omaha, and Bill Welter and Diana Scardilli of Park City, Utah, along with Paul’s eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He will also be greatly missed by his colleagues, students, and many, many dear friends. Paul was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Lillian, his parents, three brothers, and one sister.

Tributes

Paul R. Welter

December 6, 2016 - December 6, 2016