Shockey Roots

George William Whaley, Sr., 84, of Dixon, passed away Tuesday, December 28, 2021, at Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital in Dixon, IL. His death is mourned by his wife of 48 years, Josie Sandoval Whaley. They were married in Carlsbad, New Mexico on April 26, 1973. He leaves behind 5 children, Rodney Whaley, Kenneth (Tarina) Whaley, Pam Whaley, Sandra (Anthony) Steele, all of Texas, and George (Ginny) Whaley, Jr., of Dixon, IL; 8 grandchildren, Daven Whaley, Ashlynn Whaley, Gregory Steele, Alyssa Steele, Brandi Chism, Cody Whaley, Ryan Whaley, Trey Whaley; 9 great-grandchildren; his 2 sisters, Pat Brobst and Jeri Osborne; 5 nieces and nephews, Tina Coffey, DeeDee Floto, Lynda Smetana, John Brobst, and David Brobst.
George was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph and Velva (Shockey) Whaley and father and mother-in-law, Pablo and Juanita Sandoval.
George was born October 2, 1937. His parents raised him, with his 2 sisters, on a farm in Stockton, IL. He graduated from Stockton High School in 1955. Following high school, he attended and graduated from DeVry Tech in Chicago, IL, where he studied electronics and radio maintenance. After receiving his certification, he joined the Air Force where he served from 1956-1961 as radio and radar maintenance technician and served in Korea. He was a proud Vietnam Veteran.
George retired from San Angelo Police Department as Sergeant of Records and Identification in 1995, after 30 years of service as a police officer, specializing in fingerprint analysis. During his service on the force, he earned a diploma from The Institute of Applied Science in Scientific Crime Detection. He was a certified latent print examiner, qualifying him to testify in any court in the United States. He saw the potential in the people around him and encouraged them to do more than they thought they could. Many of his fellow officers attribute their success to his guidance.
George committed his life to serving his country, community, church, and family. He was a lifetime member of the Texas Division of the International Association for Identification, a member of the Concho Valley Lodge # 22 Fraternal Order of Police, he belonged to the American Legion Post # 12, St. Patrick Catholic Church of Dixon, and the Dixon Knights of Columbus where he was a 3rd and 4th Degree Knight. He was honored to participate in the Honor Flight program in 2019 with his guardian, Jennifer Lang. He served as a scout leader for Troop 3 at Goodfellow Air Force Base. He sold tootsie rolls for the Knights and helped with his grandkids scouting and school activities whenever possible. He volunteered at the local food pantry, the funeral dinner ministry at St. Pats, and any other organization in need of help.
George enjoyed traveling, visiting casinos, bird watching, and fishing, but most of all, he loved spending time with his family and friends. He always had a smile and a handshake for a stranger.
George's family would like to give special thanks to the CGH Home Nursing Staff, especially Sandy, Darcie, and Deb, as well as personal care assistants Summer, Maggie, and Penny.
Memorial Services for George are as follows:
·Visitation to be held at Preston-Schilling Funeral home in Dixon on Monday, January 3, 2022 from 5:00-7:30 followed by a Knights of Columbus invocation and recitation of the rosary.
·Funeral to be held at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Dixon, IL on Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. with luncheon to follow.
·Military Burial to be held at Rock Island Arsenal on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.
*All those attending the burial service will meet at the Radisson Hotel in John Deere Commons- Moline at 9:30. We MUST enter as a group to avoid the individual vetting process.
Memorials may be directed to Fisher House, 5000 S. 5th Ave., Hines, IL 60141 or Lee County Honor Flight in Dixon, IL.
Arrangements were completed by Preston-Schilling Funeral Home in Dixon.
Condolences may be sent to www.prestonschilling.com
Published by Sauk Valley News from Dec. 31, 2021 to Jan. 1, 2022.