Joshua Weston Welker
February 18, 1979 – March 17, 2023
The firstborn of Dr. Weston & Marci Welker, Josh wasted little time establishing himself as the natural successor to the “man of the house” role should anything befall his father (a personality trait that solidified itself after his siblings Matt Welker and Molly Welker Hall joined the family, and continued well into adulthood). At that young age Josh hero worshipped his Dad, using his stethoscope to check his teddy bear’s vital signs, decking himself out in army fatigues, obsessing with understanding the science behind the things, and falling in love with the outdoors. Dad was the world, and if anything ever went wrong, “It’s Mom’s fault.”
As Josh got older, that started to change. A new passion emerged, one that would influence the rest of his life and connected him closer to his artist Mother. Josh became a performer. He developed a beautiful singing voice at an early age, which only strengthened as he grew older and began leading youth worship services and performing in “I Love America” celebrations with his friends at Whitesburg Baptist Church, where he was heavily involved throughout his teenage years. His talent for music formed a natural bridge to acting, which shaped the rest of his adult life.
Josh was a 1997 graduate of Grissom High School, where he found himself involved in everything from band to ROTC over his four years, but he truly found himself on the stage. After becoming a standout performer in the theater program, his final role as Bernardo in West Side Story, performed at the International Thespian Festival, led to his decision to pursue acting as a career. Soon after, he was accepted into the acting program at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he spent the several years performing.
It was shortly after graduation from Roosevelt that Josh turned to his brother in their freezing cold, sparsely decorated, barely affordable Chicago apartment and asked if he was ready to move to Los Angeles. Without hesitation Matt said yes, and they were soon followed by a motley assortment of Windy City friends that quickly became Josh’s de facto family on the West Coast,
with Josh in “the dad” role of course.
Like most Hollywood hopefuls, Josh’s decade in the city was filled with plenty of professional ups and downs, but even the leanest times were filled with his favorite memories – from his first job as a P.A. on The Bachelor to the day he and his best friends moved into what they referred to as “The Good House” (a 2 story 4 bedroom gem complete with a pool, hot tub and a poker table for only $2400/month – WHAT?), to showing off his culinary skills at Friendsgiving each year, to accepting his annual invitation to Adam Sandler’s holiday party, to his first batch of homemade beer, to witnessing Alabama’s 1st Nick Saban National Championship at the Rose Bowl in person, to attending Sundance, to standing side by side with his brother in a red coat uniform while getting drenched as they interrupted the wedding of Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, to every audition he had, every studio lot he stepped foot on, every film he worked on, every script he wrote, to every friend he ever made.
As he closed in on 40-years-old, Josh looked around the city of Los Angeles and decided it no longer spoke to him. And so “the dad” made the decision to say goodbye to his L.A. family and come home to his real family. As it turns out, that family had grown in his absence. And as Josh resettled into life in the South and began a new career managing entertainment venues like Old Town Beer Exchange, Top Golf and Zanie’s Comedy Club, he embraced the opportunity to retire as “the dad” of the family and excitedly took on the mantle of being “the cool uncle” to Camden, Irie, Keegan, Addie and Turner.
And in a twist befitting a well written 3rd Act (perfect for the screenwriting actor that he was), Josh’s retirement from acting ended unceremoniously when he was cast as the lead in two local feature length films, Once A Hero and The Adventures of the Adventures. Far away from the glitz and glamour, Josh got his perfect Hollywood ending.
To many, Josh was simply known as “Bama”. To most, Josh was a friend. To the lucky few, Josh was a brother and a son.
Josh died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 44. He was loved more than he could have ever known. He was kind, inquisitive, smart, talented and protective and we will spend the rest of our days missing him. As befitting a man who loved spending time in the outdoors so much that he camped out in a different state park every night along his journey from Los Angeles to Huntsville, Josh’s request to return to the earth will be honored.
Josh is survived by his parents Dr. Weston Welker and Marci Welker; brother, Matt Welker (Zena); sister, Molly Hall (Ash); nephews, Camden Welker, Keegan Hall, and Turner Welker; nieces, Irie Welker and Addie Hall; grandmother, Barbara Welker; grandfather, Tom Wallace; aunt, Kathie Welker; uncles, Jim Becton and Vance Welker (Trina). Josh was preceded in death by grandmothers, Julia Rooney and Marie Wallace; and grandfather, James Welker.
A celebration of Josh’s life will be held Sunday, March 26 at 2:30 PM in the chapel at Whitesburg Baptist Church’s Recreation Outreach Center (ROC) at 7300 Whitesburg Drive in Huntsville Alabama.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of Josh Welker, to the ministries of Rivertree Church or Whitesburg Baptist Church.
