Judge Whayland W. Kilgore, 92, peacefully entered into his eternal rest on Monday, March 2, 2020, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Goliad County to the late Napoleon B. Kilgore and Marian (Kornfuehrer) Kilgore Zacek.
He is survived by his loving wife of 69 years, Dolores Kilgore; sister, Mary Elizabeth Kilgore; daughters, Mary (Christopher) Coughran of Argyle; Dianne (Moell) Blalock of Boerne; Denise (Greg) Jolly of Victoria; Eileen (Chuck) Bullock of Inez; Patrice (Fred) Stanford of Victoria; and Ida (Bill) Sebera of Fredericksburg; sons, Thomas (Lynette) Kilgore of Inez; Daniel (Sheila) Kilgore of Victoria; Patrick (Melodie) Kilgore of Sugarland, and Wayne (Stacey) Kilgore of Montgomery. He is also survived by 36 grandchildren and 42 great grandchildren.
Whayland is preceded in death by his parents; sister, Iris McCracken; sons, John and Joseph Kilgore; daughter, Blandine and son-in-law Jeff Dorsett; grandsons, Clint Bullock and Matthew Dorsett, and great-grandson, Mason Rother.
As a youth, Whayland, worked as a farm hand, ranch hand, service station attendant, roughneck in the oil field, and Southern Pacific Railroad employee and served two years as an enlisted serviceman and two years as a line officer in the United States Navy. He was a graduate of Goliad High School and Victoria College.
Unsure of what career path to follow, he followed in the footsteps of a friend and decided upon law school. The decision proved to be a good one. After only 27 months, he earned his law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law, San Antonio in 1951 with honors. He married the love of his life, Dolores Kainer, on November 23, 1950 and began his career in private practice before joining County Judge P. P. Putney as an associate. In 1956, he was elected Victoria County Attorney and served as prosecutor for 10 years from 1957-1967. He returned to private practice for 15 years before he was elected District Judge of the 267th Judicial District in 1982, which included Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio, and Victoria Counties. He holds the distinction of being the first judge to be elected to the 267th Judicial District Bench, which was created by then-Governor Bill Clements in the early ‘80s to deal with the increasing caseload in the Victoria area. Throughout his time on the bench, he presided over hundreds of jury trials, concerning civil and felony cases of every kind. In 1995, his fellow District Judges unanimously elected him to serve as the local Administrative Judge for their Courts in the six county area. He served the people of the six county districts for 20 years (1983-2003) with fairness and integrity before his retirement in 2003. He finished out his fifth term as visiting judge before stepping away from the bench.
It was his many years of service to law that earned him a spot as one of two recipients of the 2011 Legacy Award. He was humbled and grateful for this award.
He was a long-time member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and served on the Finance Committee and was a member of the Holy Name Society. He also was a long-time member of the Knights of Columbus, previously taught high school CCD, and worked with the Diocese of Victoria.
After retirement, Whayland became active in farming and ranching in Victoria County. During his lifetime, he enjoyed traveling, hunting, spending time with his family, was an avid reader, loved the game of chess, and always enjoyed a good game of dominoes. He had a witty personality and as he aged, his humor was always present. He was well-respected by many and will be missed.
The family will receive guests for a visitation from 6 to 7 pm followed by a rosary to be recited at 7 pm on Friday, March 6, 2020 at Colonial Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Cathedral. Burial will follow at Resurrection Cemetery. Share memories with the family at colonialfuneralhomevictoria.com
