Louie Welch: Houston's Influential Mayor and Civic Leader (1918–2008)

Louie William Welch, Houston mayor, civic leader, and businessman, was born on December 9, 1918, in the West Texas town of Lockney in Floyd County. His father, Gilford Edgar Welch, was an automobile mechanic and later worked as a service manager at an automobile dealership. His mother, Nora Elizabeth (Shackelford) Welch, taught a Bible class at the family’s church. Welch grew up in Slaton, located near Lubbock, and attended the local high school where he was president of his senior class and manager of the football team. He attended Abilene Christian College (later Abilene Christian University), where he earned a degree in history in 1940. While in college, he met Iola Faye Cure, and they married on December 17, 1940. They had six children.

In 1944 Welch and his family settled in Houston, where he started an auto parts business. He later went into real estate. He became active in local affairs and was elected to the Houston City Council, where he served from 1950 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1962.

In 1963, on his fourth try, Welch was elected Houston’s mayor, defeating incumbent Mayor Lewis Cutrer. He served from 1964 to 1974, and his mayoralty was among the most notable in city history. Due, in part, to the Astrodome’s opening in 1965 and astronauts based at Houston’s NASA Manned Spacecraft Center (today the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center), Houston achieved a new level of global visibility. Houston Intercontinental Airport (today George Bush Intercontinental Airport) opened in 1969. Lake Conroe and Lake Livingston were created to supply water to Houston, and Welch initiated long-term improvements, such as the cleaning of the Houston Ship Channel, among other achievements. He also served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (1972–73) and as vice president of the National League of Cities (1970–73).

Welch’s five consecutive two-year terms were an unprecedented feat at the time. (They have since been matched by Kathy Whitmire, who served from 1982 to 1992.) A physically short man—Welch stood five feet, six inches—his enthusiasm, people skills, and humor served him well throughout his career. He recalled, “When I was elected mayor I spent the better part of my first term weeding out the political appointees I had inherited from my predecessor. Virtually all my second term (I spent) weeding out my own political appointees.”

Welch also faced challenges during his mayoralty. His relationship with the African American community was strained because of their objections to the tactics of Houston police chief Herman Short. In May 1967 a riot occurred at Texas Southern University in which hundreds of officers were dispatched to occupy the campus. A Houston police officer was killed by a ricochet bullet during the melee. Welch said later that of all the bad things said about him, being accused of racism hurt more than anything else.

Welch retired from the mayoralty in 1974 and became president of the Houston Chamber of Commerce, known today as the Greater Houston Partnership. During this time he grew its membership and promoted Houston internationally. His work included securing a Chinese Consulate—Houston was one of the first American cities to do so. When his term as chamber president ended in 1985, Welch decided to run again for mayor. His loss to incumbent Kathy Whitmire that year was marked by a gaffe in which Welch, unaware that a live KTRK-TV microphone was present, made a derogatory joke about the gay community regarding how to deal with the AIDS epidemic in Houston. Welch immediately apologized, but also said he did not think he “had the gay vote anyway.”

Welch received many honors during his life. He was awarded honorary degrees from several institutions, including Pepperdine University (1981), Abilene Christian University (1981), Oklahoma Christian College (1982), and Lubbock Christian College (1983). He was the first recipient of the Cornerstone Award from the Greater Houston Builders Association in 1980. Other awards included Outstanding Abilene Christian University Alumnus (1966); International B’nai B’rith Humanitarian Award (1973); distinguished Eagle Scout (1974); Knight Officer in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1975); American Medical Center Humanitarian Award (1975); Knight's Cross of the Order of the Crown of the Kingdom of Belgium (1976); People of Vision Award, Texas Society for Prevention of Blindness (1977); National Conference of Christians and Jews Honoree Award (1983); and Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star from the Emperor of Japan (1990). Welch was listed in Who's Who in America, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, Who’s Who in Finance and Industry, and Who’s Who in American Politics. Houston Independent School District named a middle school in his honor in 1979.

Following Iola Faye Welch’s death in 1991, Louie Welch married Helen Morales, a longtime family friend, in 1992. He died from lung cancer on January 27, 2008, and was buried at Brookside Memorial Park in Houston.