WELDON ARGIN " COTTON" LINDSEY

Weldon Argin ('œCotton'�) Lindsey died peacefully at home in San Angelo in the afternoon of September 19, 2010, after a life spent notably as a land man in the West Texas-eastern New Mexico oil patch and as a philanthropist in the area of alcohol and drug rehabilitation. He was born the second child of M. C. and Tommie Lindsey in Lamesa, Texas, on October 27, 1910. He spent his early years in Lamesa and on a ranch in Gaines County. In the 1930s he went into business with his father in petroleum land management, and he continued the business after his father'™s death, serving also as trustee of the M. C. Lindsey Trust, which was set up for the benefit of the children of the M. C. Lindseys and of the First Baptist Church in Lamesa. In 1936 he married schoolteacher Alice Odum. The couple would live at various times in Lamesa and San Angelo, and Weldon also long maintained an office and secondary residence in Midland. They had two children, Mack and Margaret. They moved to their final residence in San Angelo in 1970, where they were members of the First United Methodist Church. In 1942 Weldon Lindsey joined the 18th Naval Construction Battalion ('œSeabees'�) and spent the remainder of World War II in service in the Pacific. He saw combat action on the islands of Guadalcanal, Saipan, and Tinian. After the war he maintained ties and took a leadership role with the 18th Seabees veterans group and always attended their reunions. It was no secret to Weldon'™s acquaintances that he responded to his own personal conflicts by abusing alcohol. He was led to Alcoholics Anonymous, through which he worked, for himself and others, the rest of his life. He became permanently sober in 1971 and later worked and contributed in the area of alcohol and drug rehabilitation. He served for a period on the board of directors of the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Council for the Concho Valley, and the Alcoholism Council Building in San Angelo is named in his honor, the Weldon 'œCotton'� Lindsey Building. He frequently expressed gratitude both for his family and for the fellowship he enjoyed in all his important pursuits. He was preceded in death by his wife Alice and sisters Flora Ellen Gray, Virginia Pipes, and Frances Esmond Gilliland Walker, as well as a severely disabled brother, M. C. Lindsey, Jr., and a sister, Maxine, who died as a small child. He is survived by his son Mack Clay Lindsey III, daughter-in-law Margery Lindsey, and granddaughter Leah Alice Lindsey of Austin; daughter Margaret Lindsey, M.D., and granddaughters Jenna Ling Lindsey and Alice Abigail Lindsey of Rochester, New York; brother-in-law Bill Odum of Alamogordo, New Mexico; and several nieces and nephews and their families. A catered family visitation will be 6-8 p.m. on Friday, September 24, at the Robert Massie Funeral Home in San Angelo. A graveside service will be held on Saturday, September 25, 4 p.m., at Lamesa Cemetery in Lamesa. A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 23, at 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in San Angelo. Arrangements are by Robert Massie Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial donations to the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Council for the Concho Valley (325-224-2481, adaccv.org) or the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum (228-865-4480, www.seabeehf.org/museum).