JOHN "JACK" S. WHARTON
Feb. 11, 1921-Dec. 14, 2009
John "Jack" Sherard Wharton, 88, died Monday at Wayne Memorial Hospital.
A memorial service will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, followed by a reception in the parish hall.
He was born in Goldsboro, the son of James Leslie Wharton and Lilla Lee Sherard Wharton.
He was a 1938 graduate of Goldsboro High School. In 1942 he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science degree in commerce.
He joined the U.S. Navy as part of the V-7 program and was sent to Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind., for orientation, then on to Midshipman's school at Northwestern University in Chicago.
There he met June Young and married her Dec. 30, 1943, at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Goldsboro.
During World War II, he served as the first OD (officer of the deck) of LST 137, which transported British troops to France on D-Day. He spent several more years in the U.S. Navy in Japan and the Philippines before returning to this area to work with Gulf Oil.
Later he was the manager for Cozart Packing Co. He also worked with Toledo Scales in eastern North Carolina.
Jack gave of himself to his community and his country in many ways throughout the years. He was president of the PTA at three different schools and active with many organizations, including Kiwanis Club; Golden K, where he served as president; the local Boy Scouts, community theater on all levels; St. Stephen's Episcopal Church; and the American Field Service.
Jack volunteered at the Soup Kitchen and delivered Meals on Wheels.
He sang with many local groups, including barbershop quartets, St. Stephen's choir and III Century Singers.
After serving in the U.S. Navy, he spent almost 30 years in the United States Naval Reserve, retiring as a lieutenant commander.
He served as secretary-treasurer of the local ROA (Retired Officers Association) for three years and then became president of the Eastern Carolina chapter of ROA.
For the first half of his life, he belonged to St. Paul's Methodist Church. In the early 1960s, he joined his family at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, where he remained a member the rest of his life.
He is survived by his wife, Annie Laurie C. Wharton; daughters, Lesley W. Marcello and husband, Robert "Bobby" J. Marcello, of Thibodaux, La., Priscilla L. Wharton of Miami, Fla., and Ann W. Shull and husband, Richard "Dick" D. Shull, of Landisburg, Pa.; son, John Sherard Wharton Jr., and wife, Amy W. Wharton, of Charlottesville, Va.; stepson, William Robert "Bobby" Crawford of St. Petersburg, Fla.; stepdaughter, Laurie C. Harding and husband, Dr. Robert "Bob" G. Harding, of Goldsboro; grandchildren, Elizabeth M. Fabrega and husband, Dr. Gustavo "Gus" A. Fabrega of Little Rock, Ark., United States Army Capt. Margaret J. Marcello, stationed in northern Iraq, and John "Joey" J. Wharton and Wendy L. Wharton of Charlottesville; stepgranddaughter, Emily P. Southerland of Raleigh; sister-in-law, Vivian M. Wharton of Goldsboro; and niece, Betsy F. Wharton of Goldsboro.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, June Y. Wharton; and brother James "Jim" Leslie Wharton Jr.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.seymourfuneralhome.com.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on December 16, 2009 1:47 PM