Arthur James Whaley

Arthur James Whaley was born February 23, 1958, in Dallas, Texas. He was a joy to his parents, James and Sherry Whaley. A sweet boy that loved playing with friends, playing with Hot Wheel cars, watching Batman and pretending to be Superman which caused his parents to spend many visits to the emergency rooms for broken bones. Arthur also loved teasing his younger sister Pam, scaring her after they watched Dark Shadows but was also protective of her. Even at an early age he learned to value a dollar and saved while many of his friends spent. He was obedient and rarely got in trouble. Arthur played football briefly while attending Wilmer Hutchins High School. He always enjoyed tinkering with cars and became proficient at repairing them. Arthur planned to one day restore his 1967 Chevrolet pick-up truck.

He met the love of his life, Beatrice (affectionally known as Bea or BB) Tilden Bachemin in 1980 and they were married in a beautiful, elaborate ceremony June, 15, 1985. He became Pawpaw to her son Renaldo (Toonie) and she became step-mom to his daughter, Shajuana. He was a great dad to each and showered them with love. Love of family is synonymous with Arthur. He was always generous with his time, affection and would offer up to the shirt from his back to help those he loved and often just someone in need. He had a special love for spending time with family as they aged and could sit for hours just visiting. He also enjoyed spending time with his niece Jamie and grand nephews, Aidan and Ryland.

Arthur had his own special fashion style, showing off flashy wing tips, “fly” suits and outfits, often matching colors with his stylish wife. Beatrice surprised him last year for his sixty-six birthday with a grand party. The ballroom was filled with family and friends who saluted him and danced the night away. He was very surprised, delighted and showered each other with affection and all could see that they still had a lot of love. Arthur spent a lot of time dancing with his wife, Aunt Gladys, sister Pam and led the Soul Train Line. Arthur and Bea enjoyed vacationing in Galveston, Las Vegas, San Antonio and had a special 40th anniversary trip planned for Honolulu which they cancelled in January due to his illness.

SPORTS! Arthur enjoyed watching football, basketball, tennis, baseball, golf, basically anything with a ball and you could often hear him yelling at the players, coaches and referees because they were not doing it right. He caused the nurses to rush into the hospital room in October 2024 because he set off the alarm from excitement.

While Arthur enjoyed his time off, he was also passionate about his job. He was a Roller Operator in the asphalt paving industry. He spent most of his career in the industry and the last twenty years working for Property Paving. He loved the work but loved the people even more and they said Arthur was the better at his job than anyone they had seen doing it. It was obvious the respect and love that existed by how his room was flooded with co-workers/visitors. Each seemed more like family and the kind words spoken mixed with the obvious pain each person felt left no doubt how important Arthur was in their lives. They also spoke about Arthur’s pies. He was an extraordinary baker, specializing in sweet potato and chess pies which were always the highlight of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Arthur baked about 80 pies during the holidays over the last 15 years and they were always a hit. Until February 2025, he was still planning on returning to work and continuing to bake but his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ had a different plan. Kind, nurturing, patient, loving, generous, and dependable are just a few attributes that loved ones used to describe Arthur. There was never enough seating in his hospital room for the relatives and friends that wanted to spend all the time they could with him.

Arthur leaves to cherish his memory, Beatrice Whaley, his loving wife of 40 years who never left his side to the end, father, James (Shirley); sister, Pam Whaley, at his side; brother, Homer (Shunder); niece, Jamie (Eddie); son, Renaldo; daughter, Shajuana; grandchildren, Dontre’, Ambriya, Teleah, Alexia, Jaylon; grand nephews, Ryland and Aiden; and a host of family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his beloved mother, Sherry and several aunts and uncles.