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The First Baptist of Church of Azle is hosting a blood drive this Sunday, July 11, for longtime Azle resident and church member Margaret “Marie” Welch.
Welch was the first female street patrol officer in Tarrant and Parker County. Her career in law enforcement started in 1969 when she worked as a clerk for the Azle Police Department.
The Azle PD staff at the time was so small that Welch soon found herself acting as court clerk, dispatcher and assisting the officers as much as possible. Her actions didn’t go unnoticed by Police Chief Royal Hartwell, who realized Welch’s potential as an officer and assigned her to the street as a beat cop.  In the early 70’s, women were still a novelty in a police uniform. Welch’s biggest handicap however was what to wear, since all the uniform pants were made for men.
Using her skills as a seamstress, Welch made her own pants and cut down her gunbelt from another officer’s belt. She worked as a properly clad Azle officer for 13-1/2 years, followed by another 6-1/2 years on the beat at Westover Hills. “It was certainly a different world back then,” Welch said. After her last blood test, Welch is again facing a different world. Still a “high-energy person” at the age of 79, Welch has spent the last month battling fatigue, followed by a chronic cough and what she thought was an infection caused by allergies. But blood tests revealed that her “bone marrow is dying.” The medical term for it is “Adult Acute Leukemia” – a cancer of the white blood cells that form in the bone marrow and help to fight off infection. Leukemia results when the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells that crowd out healthy cells, making it hard for the blood to do its work. Without treatment, she’s been given “from a few weeks to a few months” to live – a future that doesn’t feel quite as bleak to Marie as it sounds. “It’s been a wonderful life,” she said. “I’ve had 20 years of service in law enforcement and a beautiful family.” But there is one more thing she would like to accomplish before her candle burns out. “I just lost my son two years ago and his estate is still in probate,” she said. “If I can stay around long enough for that I’ll shout and scream.” There is a somewhat new treatment called Vidaze that could send the disease into remission. It’s administered as a series of five shots in a row, followed by a three-week break before the next series of five. “After three or four treatments the leukemia could go into remission,” Welch said. In the meantime, she’s living on borrowed blood – “so many transfusions I can’t count,” she said. And it’s for Welch’s benefit that First Baptist Church at 1017 Boyd Road is hosting a blood drive, giving Azle an opportunity to come to the aid of a fellow Azlelite. Marie graduated from Azle High School in 1949. Her two children, Delynn amd Sherrell, graduated in 1968 and 1974. Of her three grandchildren, all but one are Azle grads. And her four great-grandchildren all attend Azle schools. Every donated drop of blood reduces the cost of Welch’s continuing transfusions. The blood drive starts at 9 a.m. and goes until 1 p.m. To schedule a time to donate contact the church at 817-444-4828. |
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