Not a day goes by that I don't think of you. I have a picture of you and I that was taken at Uncle Johnnie's house of you and I sitting on a swing and you were telling me to be patient about getting married...but you knew the proposal was coming the next weekend..sneaky. It hangs on my refrigerator and I smile every time I see it. I can still hear your speech from that day as if it were yesterday. Tell grandma hello for me, I know she is watching over us as well. I miss you both and love you always.

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

Cindy and I will miss seeing you and Paula. I was privileged to work for you. Rest high on that mountain.

Mr. Whiteley was a great leader. He positioned many of us to take our rightful place in the business of higher education throughtout the country.  Always firm but fair he was the "beacon of hope" for those serious leaders.

johnnie...i'm so sorry to hear about your dad.  i remember in the early '70's i had a wreck in my car.....your dad let me bring it to him at HISD and he had the class there fix it for me.....it was a new program at HISD. i don't think i would have had it fixed if it weren't for your dad!  i'll never forget that.....he was a wonderful man and know yall will miss him very much.  please know my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
nancy mcgonagill

Johnnie,
so sorry to hear about your father. He seems to have had a very wonderful, active life. What a legacy.
My prayers are with you and your family

Cheryl Falgoust, Houston, TX

I was Mr. Whiteley's secretary for 5 years at Houston Community College. He was a great boss and I remember those times with fondness. Sincerest sympathy to his family.

In science, complex structures often distill themselves under pressure. In life, emotions behave much the same way. Indeed, Churchill said, "All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."

Although it is difficult to characterize a life as deep and wide as Grandpa Johnnie's, we are well-served to do so by reducing a grand body of work to three unifying principles akin to the virtues that Churchill intoned. 

Family. Honoring the Whiteley name remained the ultimate virtue for Grandpa Johnnie. An immutable principle reinforced over years of conversations on family history. The opportunity to dishonor the Whiteley name by disappointing our forebears represented a looming menace that demanded daily vigilance. Grandpa Johnnie stood guard against this pressure to make an inopportune decision or to forsake his principles for his entire life.  Now, the vanguard of this obligation has changed hands. He leaves to us a name untarnished and a challenge to keep it that way.  May we meet it well.

Faith. Beyond church, which remained important throughout his life, Grandpa Johnnie kept a faith in life that we aspire to imitate.  Through trials that would have cratered a lesser man (the loss of a father during adolescence, the loss of a wife of 58 years), Grandpa remained steadfastly optimistic. He bolstered himself not with animosity or with malice, but with something he called a Positive Mental Attitude or PMA.  He would expect the same from us now.

Fellowship. Grandpa's fondness for helping his fellow man led him through a successful career and personal life.  He battled for improving the educational chance for vocational students when few people felt it was worthwhile.  For decades he provided his energies and leadership to a host of civic organizations with one goal - to help mankind help itself.  His selfless service and tireless civic ethos made him not only a man of success, but also a man of value.  To those who have benefitted from his foresight and wisdom, he never asked a thing, though I suspect he would like to see the vision of fellowship carried forward by each of us in our own way.

Over the next few days, there will be a great retelling of many and varied anecdotes of Grandpa, from his penchant homemade ice cream, to his love of the lake house, and his constant thermos of coffee for the road.  From him we learned that it is better to listen to the Astros on the radio, mandatory to come home for Christmas, and a good idea to make sure all of the plugs are in the boat before you launch it.

Each of us will treasure a different memory and retell a different story, such is our grieving process. Yet, the legacy that transcends these memories - the presence that will stiffen the spines of generations to come - resolves to the three principles from which grandpa never deviated: Family, Faith , and Fellowship. As we move on from today, we do well to remember that these principles will continue to guide us.

We should conclude with a second Churchill quote, one with which grandpa would nod in agreement, "Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. 
But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb."

We celebrate a man who has made this journey in the most dignified way possible. We pray that we may endeavor to follow closely in his footsteps, and continue to move our feet to the cadence  of Grandpa Johnnie¦Family, Faith, and Fellowship.

 I WILL MISS J.B WHITELY I WAS HIS 
JUNIOR WARDEN IN HIS MASONIC LODGE&
 IWANT TO SCHOOL WITH HIS SON MARK
WHITELY . AND HE WAS MY SENIOR STEWART
DURING MY YEAR AS W.M  I LOST A GOOD
FRIEND & A MASONIC BROTHER

You & your Family are in my prayers.I know you will be dearly missed by all of your family and friends.

My condolences goes to the loved ones.So as the days and weeks pass, and as you return to life's routine, may you continue to feel comforted by the love and support of family and friends.(Isaiah 25:8)

To Mr. Whiteley's Family,
Your dad and I spent many a night together ..... at HISD/HCC board meetings.  He was a true professional who cared about his life's work, but more importantly, saw his family as his life's achievement.  There are many in the community who benefitted from his knowledge, professionalism and kind nature.  My sympathy is with his children, grandchildren and others who love him.

It is hard to summarize the impact of a man's life with mere words - no
matter how many are written -- and Johnnie B. Whiteley Jr.'s life is no
different. While many are well versed in his lifelong contributions to the
church, Guedry Cemetery, Masonry, Shiners', Rotary, and the Houston
education community, you might not be intimately aware of the significant
role he played in the life of his grandchildren and the enduring legacy he
leaves behind.

When thinking of my Grandfather, countless memories come to mind: white
plastic crappie jigs, a well used coffee mug, green trash cans filled with
clothes, a sunrise shared in a deer stand, a can of Big Red, the
annual blue Christmas Tree, the infamous sausage balls, the mysterious frogs, 
the skull, homemade ice cream, a firm handshake, and resolute
opinions to only identify a few. But to my immense frustration, I cannot
pinpoint my earliest childhood memory of my grandfather.   Over the past few
days, I scoured my childhood seeking to identify that singular event.  And
through the course of my search, I slowly realized it was impossible for me
to do so. Not because I cannot recall any singular event with my grandfather
but there is not a period of time in my life he was not present.
He was a central figure in my life.

Obviously, his means of involvement changed over the years, but he and my
Grandmother were a constant force in my life -- subtly and occasionally firmly
-- shaping the man I was to become in ways only grandparents can.  His core
values of Family, Service, Integrity, Commitment, and Devotion were laid out
for me and my cousins at an early age, and over time were unwittingly
woven into our own consciousness -- sometimes through front porch ad hoc lectures
but mostly through witnessing his deeds. These collective teachings about life, 
family and service became my foundation -- his legacy in me.

He set the bar pretty high for us Grandkids and I must admit I still
struggle to consistently be the man he intended me to be. But, his example,
his out stretched hand, and occasional but necessary "be a leader" quip
still resonate in my heart - always at the moment I unknowingly need his
reminder to reach again for the mark.  For me, his teachings -- his core
values -- have become mine.

We all live with the seeming contradiction of a rich, sweet life that someday ends.
However, I believe the conclusion of my Grandfather’s life here on earth does not 
herald his end -- his legacy will endure in us and in Heaven. I am eternally thankful
 for every minute I spent by my Grandfather's side. Through him, I learned much 
about myself and how to walk the great journey of life. He is and will be with me 
every day and my memories of him will transcend the constraints of time.

Godspeed Grandpa.

Thank you for being the perfect Grandfather to your grandchildren and when you
see Grandma please give her a hug. We miss her too.

As the days and weeks pass, and as you return to life's routine, may you continue to feel comforted by the love and support of family and friends

What a long and wonderful life J.B. Whiteley led.  His contributions to the education of generations of Houstonians can't be underestimated.  The Houston Community College will stand forever as his legacy.  
I must share my favorite J.B. Whiteley story:  In 1975, when he was transitioning from HISD to HCC, I interviewed with him for a job teaching television production at HSPVA.  I was a 5'2" blonde, not much older than the HSPVA students, meeting this man who was already a giant in Houston.  His final question to me was "Little lady, you think you can handle them big old boys?"  I took some pride many years later, when we met again as fellow Rotarians, in reminding him of that question and telling him I never had a bit of trouble with "them big old boys."  He laughed and hugged me.  From that moment on, he was no longer just this towering figure to me, he was also a friend. 
Thank you, Mr. Whiteley, for the job and the friendship.

Dear Mark and Family:
I am so sorry to hear of the passing of your father... my father e-mailed me the news and I viewed all the photos in the slideshow at work... I had only met Johnny personally on a couple of occasions, but I remember feeling his strength in his direct eye contact... you could view all of the photos and FEEL the love and strength that he projected, and how the family radiated from it, and understand how his time here on earth contributed to what makes this country great... God bless Johnny and his Family... the light continues to shine...

I love you, Dad, and you will always be in my heart.

Dear Whiteley Family,
J.B. was my boss and my mentor, and I shall keep him in my heart forever. He was so proud of you all and always had a story about one of the grandchildren. My prayers are with you.

Johnnie,
Me & Sharon are so sorry about your loss. You and your family are in our prayers and God Bless!
Ray & Sharon Reno

Mr. Whiteley was a leader and visionary for Texas Community Colleges.  I proudly worked for Mr. Whiteley as the first Director of Business/Industry Development at Houston Community College during the 1980's.  My thoughts are with his family and friends.  He will be missed.

Johnnie:
So sorry to read about your Dad. I remember him and your Mom so well from back in our days at A&M. Please know my thoughts are with you.

Dear Whitley family, 

Mr. Whiteley will be dearly missed.  I spent time with him at St. Luke's Hospital when Paula was in ICU, along with my father-in-law, and worked with him at HCC.  He was a kind, fair man and this world will be emptier without him.  May time heal your sorrow, may friends ease your pain, and may peace replace heartache, warmest memories remain.

J.B. was a long and beloved friend, and a long time member of Southview Bapt. Ch. ( formerly Almeda Bapt. ) He will be missed for his support and dedication. We enjoyed his participation in Young @Heart meetings & trips.  Garnett & Mae Lewis

OBITUARY

Johnnie B. Whiteley Jr.

July 8, 1923 – June 19, 2011

Earthman Bellaire Funeral Home

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