Manley Lee Walling, age 92, of Newton, NC, passed away peacefully on July 2, 2018, at Conover Nursing & Rehabilitation after a period of declining health. Born October 10, 1925, in Catawba County, NC, he was the son of the late Charles Matthew Walling and Claudia Mae Witherspoon Walling.
Manley was a veteran of the US Navy, having served during World War II. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Claremont, NC, where he had been active in the choir and Claremont Seniors. Manley retired from Lear Aerospace, where he had worked for 35 years as an industrial engineer. He enjoyed woodworking and making birdhouses.
Manley’s faith was very strong and he loved the quote from Billy Graham and requested the following be used in his own obituary: Someday you will read or hear that Manley Lee Walling is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God. Rest in peace, on to paradise, “Flights of Angels take thee to thy rest.”
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, Gary Wayne Walling; sisters, Phyllis Jeanette Garrison and Lena Parlier; and brother, Ashley Walling.
Survivors include his loving wife of 67 years, Oakley Gillespie Walling; daughter, Cheryl Ann Walling of Newton, NC; son, Michael Lee Walling and wife Patricia of Los Angeles, CA; sister, Anna Leah Hoke of Claremont, NC; grandchildren, Luke Walling of Sherrills Ford, NC, Adam Colby Townsend of Newton, NC, and Brooke Nichole Townsend of Newton, NC; great-grandchildren, Caleb Brian McMurray and Maximillian Walling.
The funeral service will be held at 4:00 PM on Saturday, July 7, 2018, at First Baptist Church in Claremont, NC, with Rev. Dennis Richards officiating. A graveside service with military rites by the Navy Honor Guard and Newton American Legion Post #16 will follow at Friendship United Methodist Church Cemetery in Newton, NC. The family will receive friends at First Baptist Church in Claremont, NC, prior to the service from 2:45 to 3:45 PM on Saturday.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to: First Baptist Church, Building Fund, PO Box 489, Claremont, NC, 28610.
Condolences may be sent to the Walling family at www.drumfh-conover.com
The Walling family has entrusted funeral arrangements to Drum Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Conover, NC.
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