Wayne M Wiley Sr

Wayne Myers Wiley, Sr., peacefully departed this life in faith and fear on the evening of August 27, 2015. He was living at Clyde Cosper State Veterans Home in Bonham, Texas.
Wayne Sr. was born September 6, 1919, in McAllen, Texas. He was the second of three children and the first-born son of Arthur E. and Leora Myers Wiley and the nephew of the late Alfred Myers who was Fire Chief of the McAllen Fire Department for years. The Myers/Wiley families settled in the Rio Grande Valley, in south Texas, at the beginning of the 20th Century. Members of these families still reside in the Valley to this day.
As a young boy, Wayne was industrious and hard working. Around the age of six, he began working for the McAllen daily newspaper, The Monitor. He saved $40 (approximately $450 today) to buy his first bike so that he could more efficiently deliver papers. He was an active member of the Boy Scouts and the First Methodist Church in McAllen. He graduated from McAllen High School and began a life-long career in agriculture: cattle raising and ranching, dairy farming, cotton farming, harvesting and ginning, and fruit and vegetable farming, harvesting, canning, sales and distribution.
In 1940, Wayne married Jean Ellen Dockter of Donna, Texas. Family myth has it that Wayne joined the choir at the First Methodist Church in McAllen so that he could meet and court Jean. In 1947, under the tutelage of his cousin, master carpenter, the late Everett "Deac" Myers of McAllen, Wayne built a home in San Juan, Texas. The Wayne Wiley family moved from McAllen to their new home, Christmas 1947, and remained for over 35 years. On occasion, Wayne maintained his spirit of industriousness and worked three jobs in order to support his family. Wayne and Jean had four children, Wayne, Jr., Martha, Evelyn and Janet. They were active in the First Methodist Church of San Juan, Boy and Girl Scouting, education, and supported the many activities of their four children. Later, they were devoted grandparents who believed their grandchildren were God's gifts to them.
Wayne served as a Marine in WWII and earned the rank of Sergeant. He fought in the Pacific Area from 12Nov44 - 23Mar46. He saw action in Okinawa, Ryukuy Island and China. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal.
Wayne was Scout Master for the San Juan Boy Scout Troup for several decades. Over the course of his years in scouting, he earned his Eagle Scout and was inducted into the Order of the Arrow. He was awarded the Silver Beaver Award for outstanding service to Scouting. His name is engraved on the awards wall at the National Boy Scout Headquarters in Irving, Texas.
His wife, Jean, died in 1977. January 1979, he married Velma Younger Gordon and gained four stepchildren: Judy Ward, Cindy Wiley, Ginger Spruill and Ronnie Gordon. Wayne and Velma moved to the Texas Hill Country where, together, acting as their own contractor, they built a home in Wimberley, Texas. The home in Wimberley was a lovely place that fit Wayne and Velma's hobbies well. It included acreage for Wayne's passion, gardening, and an art studio for Velma's passion, painting. Velma passed away in 2011.
Other immediate family members who predeceased Wayne were: his parents, Arthur and Leora Wiley, his sister, Lucile Edwards Henderson, his brother, Dale Wiley, his daughter, Janet Lynn Wiley, and his stepdaughter, Judy Ward, aunts and uncles, Alfred and Neva Myers, Blanche and Russell Carpenter, Hazel and Frank Brown, and nephews, Luther Dee Edwards, Jr., and Steve Wiley.
Survivors are: his son, Wayne Myers Wiley, Jr., two daughters, Martha Jane Brock, Evelyn Jean Estes, daughter-in-law, Cindy Wiley, son-in-law, Timothy Estes, stepdaughter, Ginger Spruill, stepson, Ronny Gordon; seven grandchildren (plus their spouses), Lisa Calvert and Lynn, Matthew Taylor and Stephanie, Teri Leach and Greg, Christopher Wiley and Maria, Timothy Wiley and Malinda, Kevin Estes and Summer, and Jan Wilson and Brandon; fifteen great-grandchildren, Alyssa Taylor, Alexander Wick, Madeleine and Morgan Taylor, Brook and Liam Leach, Julia Wiley, Maddie, Avery and Lola Wiley, Abigail, Levi and August Estes, and Gracie and Rex Wilson; his nieces, Karen Edwards Kuykendall, Mary Wiley Corona, Beth Ann Wiley, Barbara Dale Wiley, and nephew, Mark Edwards, M.D.; and cousins remaining in the Valley, George and Martha Carpenter, Jean Trochak and Linda Diane Myers, Ph.D. This writer knows that there are others who predecease or survive Wayne; please accept my apologies for inadvertently omitting any names.
Heartfelt gratitude and thanks are extended to the staff at Clyde Cosper Texas Veterans Home in Bonham. Over the course of his four-year residency, staff members provided excellent care of Wayne and became loving friends.
Wayne Myers Wiley Sr. lived his life striving to honor the mottos of both the Boy Scouts of America and the United States Marine Corp.

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country, to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally aware and morally straight.

Semper Fidelis: Always Faithful. Always Loyal.