APPLE VALLEY, Calif. – Richard W. Welch, 77, formerly of Auburn, passed away on July 24.

He was born in Auburn on March 10, 1930, to Edward and Emily Barrett Welch. Dick was educated in Maine and graduated from Edward Little High School in 1948.

After service in the Navy, he worked in area shoe shops until his move to California in 1963, where he worked for the U.S. Postal Service. He loved growing flowers and is remembered by siblings for his sense of humor.

He is survived by his wife, Norma of Apple Valley; daughters, Kelly Guzman of Hesperia, Calif., and Stacey Bianco of Davis, Calif.; son, Richard and his wife, Lori, of Fallbrook, Calif.; grandchildren, Mitchell Jr., Mathew and Christopher Guzman, Rick, Megan and Brianna Welch and Alex Bianco; great-granddaughter, Jaylissa Guzman; sisters, Joyce Bickford and Pam Cooper of Maine; brothers, Ernest and Edwin Welch; and sister, Starr Sward of Connecticut.

Richard was predeceased by his parents, Edward and Emily Welch; a brother, Russell Morrell; and a sister, Bertha Hanson.