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George H. "Hank" Welbourn 1922-2001
George Henry "Hank" Welbourn, was a World War II Veteran of the U.S. Navy and served aboard the USS DeHaven DD-727 as a Chief Machinest-mate (MMC). For 36 years he was an employee with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. He was a Powerhouse Supervisor for eight Sierra-based area powerhouses known as the Drum Power House Division. He was born to Olga Evelyn (Rockhold) and Albert Edward Welbourn in Anderson, Calif. on August 5, 1922. He met his future bride, Leslie Childs of Red Bluff, when she was 12. The families knew one another. At age 18 he entered the U.S. Navy on January 14, 1941. He served on a destroyer that was sunk in the Pacific, followed by an assignment to a new destroyer. The day after Thanksgiving, he and his long-time sweetheart Leslie were married on November 25, 1943. After his discharge on December 20, 1946, at the rank of Chief Machinist Mate, he wasted no time in going to work with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. with the start of 1947. Throughout his 36-year career and transfers with the company, the Welbourn family lived in several counties some of which were Plumas, Trinity, Tehama, Shasta and Placer. He and Leslie made the trek to Modoc County each hunting season, in keeping with the tradition he and his father had started. Hank loved to hunt, fish, play golf and enjoyed his horses, when he retired to Modoc County. He was a member of the BPO Elks, Alturas Lodge 1756 for 54 years and 51 years with the Free & Accepted Masons, Alturas Canby Cross Lodge #248, both of which honored him with 50-year pins. He was a member of the Royal Arch Masons, Franklin Chapter #20, Oroville; Knights Templar of California, Butte Commandery No. 5; Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Sacramento; Ben Ali Shrine, Sacramento; had a life membership in the California Rifle and Pistol Association and was a member of the National Rifle Association. Hank and Leslie were to celebrate 58 years of marriage next month. Mr. Welbourn had been a resident at a Sacramento Alzheimer Center since 1994. He passed away in Sacramento, Calif. on October 9, 2001. He is survived by his wife Leslie H. Welbourn of Alturas; daughters Gayle McMaster of Quincy; Linda Welbourn of Granite Bay, Calif.; son Michael Welbourn of Loyalton, Calif.; twin sister Emma Isbell of Sacramento; three granddaughters, Laura Miller of Paradise; Diana Ruch of Medford, Ore.; Mannell Anton of Rocklin; two grandsons, Darrell McMaster of Quincy and Daron Sullivan of Forest Hill, Calif.; great-granddaughter Sierra Cheyenne McMaster of Quincy.
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Hank Welbourn loved Modoc County, from the time he was 12-years-old and had hunted each hunting season with his father. He vowed to retire to the area and made that dream come true in 1987.