Wesley Clifford Whitely, Jr.

Wesley Clifford Whitely, Jr., 90, of Burlington passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 18th, 2026 at Village at Brookwood.

Wesley was born in Broadford, VA on February 24, 1935 to the late Clifford & Ruby Whitely. He attended EC Glass High School in Lynchburg. There he began his interest in math and engineering and this carried him through his career with Lynchburg Foundry and English Construction Co.

Wesley and his wife Doris married in 1955 and began their church membership at Chestnut Hill Baptist Church and Dad remained an active member of Baptist churches wherever he lived. He served in many leadership capacities wherever he was needed. He was most recently a member of Bonsack Baptist Church in Roanoke, Va. He also served as a Board Member for the Sheltered Workshop organization in Altavista, Va. His work there serving special needs adults was always very special to him.

Above all, Wesley was a husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was a Dad and Poppa that showed up for his kids and his grandkids. He rarely missed a ballgame or performance.

In addition to his parents, Wesley was preceded in death by his younger brother, Jimmy Whitely of Lynchburg.

Wes is survived by his wife of 70 years, Doris. In addition, he is survived by children, Karen Needham of Burlington and fiancé Tim Haley of Mayodan; granddaughter, Ashlyn Lisk and her husband Justin of Wake Forest, NC; two great grandsons, Beckett and Tatum Lisk; his son, Chris Whitely of Georgetown, SC and wife Beth; grandsons, Matthew Whitely and wife Kali of Winston-Salem, NC and Tanner Whitely of Georgetown, SC; as well as many sisters-in-law, brothers-in law, and nieces and nephews.

Wesley will lie in state at Lowe Funeral Home from 8 AM – 5:30 PM on Thursday, January 22nd, 2026. A graveside service will be held at 12:30 PM on Friday, January 23rd, 2026 at Fort Hill Memorial Park in Lynchburg, VA.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make donations to AuthoraCare 2504 Summit Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27405 (https://www.authoracare.org/give/donate-online) who guided the family through this time of loss or to the Western North Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org/northcarolina) to benefit the research of dementia and Alzheimer’s cures.