Marion L. Wheatley Sr.

CAMBRIDGE - Marion L. Wheatley Sr., of Cambridge, died Friday, Feb. 27, 2009, at Mallard Bay in Cambridge. He was 90. Born July 19, 1918, in Vienna, he was the son of the late Roland Linwood Wheatley and Elsie Bradley Wheatley. A graduate of Vienna High School, he attended Salisbury State College and later transferred to the University of Maryland from where he graduated. He played baseball and soccer at both colleges. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was a 1st Lt. at the time of his discharge. Following the war he returned to the Eastern Shore where he was a tomato and watermelon farmer in the Vienna and Reids Grove area. Over the course of his career, he owned and operated numerous businesses; Wheatley Trucking in Cambridge, R. L. Wheatley & Son Produce where he brokered produce from farms in Florida, Royal Packing Company with factories in Vienna, Nanticoke, Harmony, and Homestead, Fla., Choptank Trading, an import crab business based in Cambridge, Bradley's Hatchery in Easton, Cambridge Mobile Homes, and was a founding partner with Tideland Seafood in Fishing Creek. He was a member of American Legion Dorchester Post 91 in Cambridge, BPO Elks Lodge 1272 in Cambridge, and the Rotary Club of Cambridge. He had served on the Board of Directors for Baltimore Federal Savings and Loan and was an avid sportsman, enjoying duck and goose hunting. He was a member of Ducks Unlimited and the Grand National Waterfowl Association. He is survived by his wife, Shirley L. Bennett Wheatley of Cambridge; a son, Marion L. "Buck" Wheatley Jr. of Cambridge; a stepdaughter, Laura Beth Karch and her husband Brian of Joplin, Mo.; a step-grandson, Christopher Geer; and a sister, Doris Phillips of Vienna. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, Jay Allen Wheatley; and a sister, Victoria Todd. Funeral services were held on March 4 at the Zeller Funeral Home. Interment followed in East New Market Cemetery. Robert Bromwell, Radcliffe Wheatley, Moody Gray, Jim Michael, Chick Moore, Jim Bishop, George Harrison, and Steele Phillips served as pallbearers. Kit Bradley, Jeff Phillips, Keith Phillips, Douglas Murphy and Larry Jenkins served as honorary pallbearers.