Obituary: Heber Thurston Whitley I | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Mr. Heber Thurston Whitley II, 90, formerly of Burlington, died Wednesday, May 4, 2011, at Mayview Nursing Home in Raleigh.

    Funeral services will be conducted 11 a.m. Saturday, May 7, 2011, at the Chapel of Paul Funeral Home and Crematory of Washington. Burial will follow in Oakdale Cemetery, Washington, N.C.

    The following will serve as pallbearers: Heber Thurston Whitley III, William John Whitley, John Gregory Meyer, John Patrick Meyer, John Thurston Whitley and Milton Henry Parra III.

    Mr. Whitley was born in Washington, N.C., on July 13, 1920. He was the son of the late Heber Thurston Whitley and Margaret Minerva Doughty Whitley. Mr. Whitley was a retired Senior Mechanical Engineer for over 25 years for Western Electric, which was the engineering arm of AT&T at the time. He was an Eagle Scout, a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Elon, Western Electric's Pioneers Group and the Cricket Golf Outing Group.

    Mr. Whitley entered the service of the U.S. Army's 105th Artillery Division as a Private during World War II, and was stationed at Ft. Sill, Okla., where he trained recruits how to fire the big guns. Mr. Whitley reached the rank of Captain before he was honorably discharged after the war. He attended NC State University on a G.I. Bill and graduated after only three years in 1949.

    On July 16, 1943, Mr. Whitley married the former Betty Jean Sopher, who preceded him in death, Feb. 21, 2011.

    Heber and Betty Whitley helped raise five children of Marion Eugene Whitley and Virginia Whitley, after Marion, Heber's brother, met with an early death. Surviving are the children like their own: Eugene Francis Whitley of Raleigh, Heber Thurston Whitley of Lake Wylie, S.C., and William John Whitley of Charlotte; and their sisters, Marlene Marie Chernitsky of Union City, Penn., and Betty Lee Meyer of Alexandria, Va. He is also fortunate to have surviving nephews from his brother, James Henry Whitley: Jay Whitley and David Scott Whitley.

    In addition to his wife and his parents, Mr. Whitley was preceded in death by three brothers, Marion Eugene (Jack) Whitley, James Henry (Boozie) Whitley and William Harry Whitley.

    The family will receive friends from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Saturday, May 7, 2011, at Paul Funeral Home and Crematory in Washington.

    Memorials may be made to the Trinity Presbyterian Church, 101 East Gate Drive, Elon, NC 27244-9272, www.trinitypresbyterianchurch.org or the American Diabetes Association, 2418 Blue Ridge Road, Suite 206, Raleigh, NC 27607.

    Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.paulfuneralhome.com.

    Paul Funeral Home and Crematory of Washington is honored to serve the Whitley family.