AggieNetwork.com
Account Benefits

"Find an Aggie" Online Directory

HireAggies Career Services

TX.AG

Roll Call Tribute

Mark Whiteley '71 October 9, 2019 4:04 PM updated: October 9, 2019 4:10 PM

Broussard's Mortuary obituary
1605 N. Major Drive
Beaumont, Texas 77713
409.866.3838
major@broussards1889.com

MARK WAYNE WHITELEY
June 23, 1949, October 06, 2019

Mark Wayne Whiteley, 70, of Lumberton, was called home on Sunday, October 6, 2019. Mark was born on June 23, 1949, in Longview, Texas, to Paula and J.B. Whiteley II. Mark, along with his siblings Johnnie and Jennifer, moved half a dozen times across the great state of Texas in support of his father’s career as an educator. As a result, Mark knew well the places and people of East Texas from Bryan to Beaumont and, more frequently than not, had a story about an elementary school friendship, football game or obscure fact for many of the towns in the piney woods.

Mark’s travels eventually saw him enroll in Texas A&M, where he joined the Corps of Cadets and began his studies as a Civil Engineer. Regrettably, Mark was unable to pursue his dream of flying for the Air Force when he failed to pass the medical qualification due to his astigmatism. Devastated at the news and searching for a new purpose in life, Mark left A&M to seek his fortune in the oilfields around Beaumont. Demonstrating the stubbornness and audacity that would become well-known hallmarks of his character, Mark not only found employment in the oilfield, but he also married his boss’ daughter, Gloria Ann Valka – who agreed to marry him on the condition that he finish his education. Like most lovestruck men, Mark did as Gloria instructed and promptly enrolled in Lamar University.

After graduating from Lamar as a Civil Engineer, Gloria and Mark set out to make their own destiny together. First as an employee of the Corps of Engineers and later in private practice, Mark used his determination and ability to push his career further and faster – eventually opening his own business with 100 dollars and Gloria’s typewriter in 1978. With a baby at home and one on the way, Mark bet it all on his resolve and his grit – and he was committed to not letting that dream fail. Mark, a young upstart, forced himself into the civil engineering and land surveying market, where he built a well-known and highly regarded brand based on loyalty, integrity and relentless pursuit of customer service.

Over the next 40 years, Mark not only built a successful business, but he also invested his time heavily in his community. Driven to “leave the world better than he found it” Mark gave his time and resources to many people and organizations, including the Boy Scouts, the YMBL, the FFA/Young Farmers, the City of Lumberton, the City of Beaumont and anyone else who needed a hand. He particularly enjoyed supporting the youth livestock auctions.

Mark strongly believed that the best way to be a leader was to serve those you lead and to never ask anyone to do anything that you would not do yourself. As a result, he could frequently be found standing in a flooded street or surveying a concrete pour – often while wearing a suit for a meeting later that day. It would give him comfort to know that those who knew him now carry on his legacy of bettering our community. The world, and each of us, are better for having known Mark.

Mark is survived by his wife, Gloria Whiteley, of Lumberton; children, Jason Whiteley and his wife, Jana, of Rye, New York; Adam Whiteley and his wife, Cinnamon, of South Riding, Virginia; and Frances Currie and her husband, Paul, of Rowlett, Texas; grandchildren, Noah Whiteley, Dominik Whiteley, Anastasia Whiteley, Ethan Whiteley, Emma Whiteley, Ainsley Currie, and Carter Currie; siblings, Johnnie B. Whiteley III and his wife, Sherry, of Hockley, Texas and Jennifer Carlton and her husband, Lee, of Groveton, Texas; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents.

A gathering of Mr. Whiteley’s family and friends will be from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., Friday, October 11, 2019, at Woodcrest United Methodist Church, 1684 Highway 96, Lumberton. His funeral service will be 10:00 a.m., Saturday, October 12, 2019, at Woodcrest United Methodist Church, Lumberton, with his interment to follow at Guedry Cemetery, Batson, under the direction of Broussard’s 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully asks that you consider a donation in the name of the recently established Gloria and Mark Whiteley Agricultural Scholarship. The Whiteley Scholarship is a specially designated fund established to enable first-time young farmers in Lumberton to purchase an auction animal to raise. Checks may be mailed to Lumberton Education Foundation, PO Box 8551, Lumberton, Texas 77657.


GATHERING OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Woodcrest United Methodist Church
1684 Highway 96, Lumberton, Texas 77657
Friday, October 11, 2019
5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.


FUNERAL SERVICE

Woodcrest United Methodist Church
1684 Highway 96, Lumberton, Texas 77657
Saturday, October 12, 2019
10:00 a.m.


INTERMENT

Guedrey Cemetery
11713 Batson Prairie Rd. Batson, TX 77519


comments powered by Disqus
Address

505 George Bush Drive
College Station, TX 77840

Phone Number

(979) 845-7514

© 2024 The Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University, All Rights Reserved