He attended the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind in Cedar Springs, South Carolina through the 11th grade. Wesley attended Brookland Cayce High School in Cayce, South Carolina his senior year.
He then attended the University of South Carolina and received his undergraduate and law degree in 4 ½ years. Wesley used an old Webcore reel-to-reel tape recorder that weighed 50 pounds to record his classes. He had to carry the tape recorder from class to class across the USC campus.
In 1956, after graduation from USC Law School, Wesley began practicing law at 1202 D Avenue in West Columbia as a sole practitioner. Wesley ran for Magistrate in 1958 and won the election. He served as the Cayce-West Columbia Magistrate until 1972, winning re-election each time.
Wesley is survived by his wife, Laura B. Waites of Lexington; daughters, Treva Hill (Patrick) of Lexington, Joan Brantley (David) of West Columbia; son, Jonathan Waites (Lisa) of Raleigh, NC; step-daughters, Debra M. Clough (Mike) of Fernandina Beach, FL, Diane M. Drake (Steve) of North Augusta; grandchildren, Cheryl Hale (Brendan), Melissa Logue (Kyle), Reaghan, Makenzie, Zachary, Grayson, Ansleigh, Whitney, Sawyer and Beckett Waites, Richard Weigle, Lindsay Wickline; great-grandchildren, Eli Hale, Asher Hale, Emily Logue, Richard and Claire Weigle; sister, Patricia Ellis of Jacksonville, FL and brother, Robert Waites of Florence, SC. He was predeceased by his brother, Paul Waites; grandson, Bennett Waites and his first wife, Frances Capell Waites.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, October 7, 2019 at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, West Columbia Chapel, with entombment to follow in Southland Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to SC Commission for the Blind, 1430 Confederate Ave., PO Box 2467, Columbia, SC 29202, Pilot Dogs, Inc. at www.pilotdogs.org or Gantt Street Baptist Church, 2121 Gantt St., Cayce, SC 29033.
