John Meadows Walley

JOHN MEADOWS WALLEY, 83, resident of Bolivar, TN, former longtime resident of the LaGrange Community, retired entrepreneur, WWII Navy Veteran and husband of Betty Jo Doty Walley died peacefully June 25, 2010 at his residence following an extended illness. A Service Celebrating the Life of Mr. Walley will be at 1 PM Tuesday at the Peebles West Funeral Chapel at 10670 Hwy 64 between Oakland and Somerville with a visitation at the chapel for family and friends two hours prior to services. Interment, with Military Honors, will be at 2:30 P.M. Tuesday in the Walley family plot of LaGrange Cemetery. A reception for family and friends will be at the LaGrange Civic Center immediately following the interment. John was born on September 12, 1926 in Jackson, MS to Dr. David Walley and Rose Alpert Walley, the youngest of six children. Orphaned at age thirteen he learned the importance of independence, motivation and serving our country. A member of the "Greatest Generation", he enlisted in the Navy at age 17 in 1943, serving on a cruiser, the USS Pasadena CL-65 (1944-1945) in the South Pacific during WWII. He was involved in several battles including the Philippine Campaign, Iwo Jima and Okinawa where he was wounded in battle. Two of his brothers' (Fred and Page) planes were shot down over China and the English Channel, paying the ultimate price for freedom. Upon returning from the Navy he completed college in Chicago and began a successful 60 year career in sales and marketing. John married Betty Jo Doty on February 26, 1955 and together they had three children. In 1963 they moved to LaGrange, TN where they restored an antebellum home which they named "Reverie". There he enjoyed 45 years of raising animals, operating a country store, producing a commercial cologne, as well as serving as LaGrange Police Commissioner on the City Council, regaling guests, friends and raising his children and grandchildren. John was a kind-hearted, fun-loving, determined, and exceptionally extroverted man, who lived his life by the phrase "You can't have enough friends". He treated people like royalty and life like an adventure and believed in the importance of being positive and working toward personal goals. Walley was a food connoisseur captivated by exotic traveling and history books. He made friends wherever he went often introducing himself as the President of "The Friends of Glutton's Society". He moved to Bolivar, TN in 2003 where he enjoyed friends and the wild animals he nurtured in his backyard. John, is survived by his wife of 55 years, Betty Jo Doty, a native of Chattanooga and retired Clinical Laboratory Medical Technologist. He also leaves his children, Janis Lichterman of Memphis, TN, Page Walley of Auburn, AL, Scott Walley of Jackson, TN, his sister, Rose Walley Marks of Jackson, MS and eight grandchildren. The family requests that memorials be directed to the LaGrange United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 75, LaGrange, TN 38046.