Virginia Ardel Welton

April 10, 1920 - Jan. 15, 2024

Resident of Orange

Virginia Ardel Welton, 103, died January 15, at her daughter Janis’s home in Orange, with her son, Dr. Stephen Welton and daughter-in-law Cheryl Welton of Missouri and her daughters, Cynthia Wimbish of Huntington Beach, and Janis Beghtol of Orange by her side.

The daughter of Dr. Floyd C. Turner and Anna Elizabeth Thompson, Virginia was born April 10, 1920 in Princeton, West Virginia. When she was 5, Virginia’s father, a physician in the US Health Service, was assigned to an immigration facility in Ireland, so she spent three years in Ireland with her parents and sisters, years she remembers fondly.

In 1936, Virginia met Eldredge “El” Welton at a church youth group in Newton, Massachusetts. A romance blossomed, and the couple were married June 14, 1941 in Washington, D.C. They celebrated 71 years of marriage shortly before El’s passing in 2012. Virginia and El welcomed four children. A son Scott, born in 1943, died in infancy. Virginia’s survivng children, mentioned above, are Cynthia Wimbish, 1944; Stephen Welton, 1947; and Janis Beghtol, 1956. Additionally, Virginia is survived by eight grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and three great-great grandchildren.

The daughter of a doctor, Virginia hoped to attend nursing school after finishing high school, but her father realized a talent, and insisted she try one year of art school and try nursing, if she did not like art studies.

Art school led to a brief stint as an illustrator and as a touch-up artist for portrait photographers. She gladly gave up her art career to become a housewife and mother. Virginia was, however, an accomplished artist and continued to paint, sculpt, and work in ceramics the rest of her life. Most of her family and many friends have samples of her work proudly displayed in their homes. At her passing, an unfinished clay figurine of her dear friend, Paul Newton, sat under a glass dome where she had worked until her last few weeks.

In December, 1957, Virginia, El, and family moved to Southern California, having lived for several years in Bridgeport and later in Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1959, El and Virginia purchased Val Verde Estates mobile home park in Orange, CA. Virginia managed the park, and El continued to work in the aerospace industry.

Virginia eventually did pursue nursing, but it was a dream deferred. She did not take nursing courses until she was in her 50’s and had moved with her family to Southern California, ultimately working briefly as a nurses’ aide. She left that behind, however, to travel the world via cruises- there are a few countries in the world she and El did not visit–, and the US via motorhome and trailer, having become avid RV-ers.

She and El built and operated Orangeland RV Park Inc. in Orange, opening the park in 1972. They shared a love of travel, adventure, and sailing, owning two sailboats over a period of several years.

Shortly after her husband’s death, Virginia decided to sell the home in Orange the two had lived in and move into a trailer in Orangeland RV Park. She lived in the park until 2019 when her daughter Janis, dealing with physical and emotional struggles, invited “Mom” to move into her home.

Extremely proud of Orangeland, in her later years, she loved to tell everyone about the park and to boast a bit about her age. She loved to say, “I am not old, I have just lived a long time.”

At Virginia’s request, No flowers, please. In lieu of this, donations may be made to the cancer research organization of your choice.