Wesley Walter Jeffries

Wesley grew up in Kokomo. He attended Central School, Sycamore School, and Kokomo High School. At Central School, he was a school safety patrol. While at Sycamore School, he was school photographer and one of his photos was featured on the cover of the school yearbook. At Kokomo High School, he was in the German Club. He graduated in June of 1966. A few years later, he attended classes at IVY Tech taking courses in computers and welding.

In 1966, before his high school graduation, he enlisted in the US Army. After graduation, he married Phyllis Marie Barley in Galveston, Indiana on October 15. He reported shortly afterwards to the Army. When he returned, Wesley and Phyllis had two daughters, Melissa Renee and Christine Dale. They divorced in 1972.

On December 2, 1972, Wesley married Sheryl Lea Hamilton in Louisville, Kentucky. Wesley and Sheryl had three children, sons Sean Patrick and Alexander Scott and daughter, Jennifer Lynn. They celebrated their 52nd anniversary in 2024.

Over the years, Wesley worked a variety of jobs. In Kokomo, he flipped burgers at McDonalds. At Murphys or Grants department stores he was a stocker. He was a route driver for Dietzen’s Bread and Coca Cola. He drove a taxi for City Cab. He worked for Delco Radio, Accurate Parts, and Chrysler Corporation. In Plainfield, Indiana, he was a prison guard for the Indiana Department of Corrections. In Louisville, he worked for Wood Mosaic and Fawcett Printing. He was also self employed a few times as a photographer, locksmith, process server, and his gun shop (Old Geezer’s Gun Shop).

Wesley had quite a few hobbies. He loved to read especially science fiction and fantasy. He was a big fan of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter books. He played chess, various card games, and Scrabble. He was somewhat of a pool hustler. He loved watching movies. Among his favorites were westerns, war, action, and sci-fi. After a serious auto accident in 1998, Wesley studied and became a licensed Ham Operator. His call signs were KB9THN and W9WWJ. In his younger days, he roller skated. He also collected various guns.

During times when he was laid off, Wesley would volunteer. He worked at the Salvation Army pantry. He would help in times of weather emergencies, he was there to help out anyone in need. In 1981 his friend volunteered him to manage a Farm League baseball team. Despite never having played sports much, he stepped up. There were a number of children who were passed over and not picked for any team. They became his team and worked as hard as they could for him. He led them to the Farm League championship that year.

Wesley loved his family very much. He is survived by his wife, Sheryl; former wife, Phyllis; daughters Melissa (Mike) Byrd, Christine (Rena) Jeffries, Jennifer (Patrick) Metsker; sons Sean Jeffries, Alexander (Amanda) Jeffries; sister Shirley Nelson; sisters-in-law Linda Jeffries and Jerry Hamilton; and brother-in-law, Victor Walker. He is also survived by six grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren, one great-great grandchild; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Arliss Jeffries; sister Jane Jeffries; nephews Bill Nelson, Dan Jeffries, and Ben Jeffries.

A visitation will be held at Sunset Memory Garden Funeral Home, 2097 West Alto Road, Kokomo, Indiana, 46902, on November 8, 2025, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. A funeral service will follow at 5:00 pm. Interment will be held at a later time.