Walter "Walt" Wiley

Walter “Walt” Marshall Wiley, 84, born at Cooks Children Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas on August 27, 1932, passed away in Kansas City, Missouri on April 6, 2017.  During his lifeline he lived in Galveston, Houston (3 times), ElPaso, Chicago, Tulsa (2 times), Lake Charles, Denver, St. Louis (2 times), Ft. Worth (2 times), and Kansas City.  He graduated from Paschel High School in Ft. Worth after attending Lamar High in Houston and Will Rogers High in Tulsa.  After attending 2 years at Texas Tech he enlisted in the US Air Force during the Korean War and served 4 years as Navigation Radar/Bombsite (K-1) System Tech on the B-47 Bomber designed to carry an atomic bomb during the cold war.  He was stationed in Fairford, England and Lake Charles, Louisiana.  While in the Air Force, he married Patsy Dossey form Klondick, Texas.  They had two daughters, Donna and Pamela, five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.  They had been married 64 years.  After duty in the Air Force Walt received a BS degree from TCU while working full time loading trucks from Swift & Co. meat packers.  He was hired by Southwestern Bell in Dallas.  He was among a select group of managers assigned to program and install the first computers (IBM 1401) throughout the Southwestern Bell accounting offices.  He worked for SWBT for 29 years retiring as District Manager in Finance at age 55.  After retiring, he turned his hobby into an occupation by starting a landscaping business which he operated for seven years.  Like many boys growing up in the 1940’s, he had summer and after-school jobs.  His first job was delivering groceries on a bicycle for one dollar a day at age 12.  Other jobs as a youth included a paper route, lifeguard, camp counselor, part-time clerk at US post office, Safeway grocery stores, and a frozen custard stand.  He also found time for boy scouting.  Before retiring, he enjoyed vacations in Europe, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, and many of the national parks and states.   Visitation will be from 1-2:00pm Wednesday April 12, 2017 at Johnson County Funeral Chapel, 11200 Metcalf.  A funeral service will follow at 2:00pm.  Private family burial will take place in Johnson County Memorial Gardens.  In lieu of flowers, donation in his memory can be made to the Salvation Army.

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