Charles Norman Whaley, Sr.

Charles Norman Whaley, Sr (age 83) of Knoxville, Tennessee passed away September 30, 2023, at home. He served in the US Navy as a Radioman 2nd Class onboard the USS Recovery, recovering Alan Sheppard's suborbital flight as part of Project Mercury. He retired as Vice-President of Wallace X-Ray Company after 29 years. Over the years, he worked with numerous groups including the Gideons, the American Red Cross, 16 years with the Voice of the Children Haitian mission, a past president of the Fountain City Jaycees, and Colonel of the Volunteer Corp. He was a member of New Beverly Baptist Church, and previously was a member at Union Chapel Baptist Church and North Rockwood Baptist Church. He was proud of the Whaley family lineage from the Greenbrier area in the Great Smoky Mountains. 

 

He is preceded in death by father Vernon Whaley, mother Lillian, sister Peggy Clark, and granddaughter Amy Whaley. He is survived by his loving wife Diana, son Charles, Jr and his wife Jeanne, son Chris and his wife Dawn, son T.J. and his wife Jennifer, granddaughters Erin, Chloe, Hannah, and Olivia, "adopted" granddaughter Sasha Stout, his sister Linda Francis and her husband Chris, and his brother-in-law Mike Evans and wife Amy.

 

Family will receive friends 5:00-7:00 PM Friday, October 6, 2023, at Mynatt Funeral Home Halls Chapel, with Sammy Sawyer leading a service at 7:00 PM. Family and friends will meet at 12:45 PM Saturday, October 7, 2023, at Greenwood Cemetery (Tazewell Pike) for a 1:00 PM interment.  Pallbearers are Lloyd Solomon, Billy Stokes, Matt Davis, Steve Hawkins, Mike Pitt, and Tom Berry. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Gideons. Online condolences may be expressed at www.mynattfh.com