Marvin Whitley, 88, of Ocilla, Georgia, died Monday, August 6, 2018, at Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton.
Funeral services will be held 2 PM, Thursday, August 9, 2018, at The Paulk Funeral Home Chapel in Ocilla, with the Rev. Joey Whitley officiating. Interment will follow in Brushy Creek Cemetery, Irwin County. The family will receive friends 6-8 Wednesday evening at the funeral home in Ocilla.
Mr. Whitley was born May 31, 1930, in Irwin County, Georgia, to the late James Albert & Myrtice Paulk Whitley. He attended school in Lax and Holt. He served his country honorably in the United States Navy, serving aboard the USS Springfield. He worked as parts manager for Irwin County Motors and Fitzgerald Ford for 40 years. Mr. Whitley was an avid outdoorsman who loved to fish and hunt. He was an accomplished story teller and loved making people laugh. He was a member of Pine Hill Baptist Church.
He is survived by his special friend, Shirley Merritt of Ocilla; two brothers, Billy Whitley of Ocilla and Carlton & Jo Ann Whitley of Ocilla; one sister, Dorothy Kelly of Ocilla; nephews: Joey & Zema Whitley of Ocilla, Stanley & Brenda Whitley of Ocilla, Ronnie & Patsy Jones and Donnie & Jo Jones. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce Jones Whitley; one son, John Keith Whitley; and one brother, Robert N. “Bobby” Whitley.