After a reunion reminder to CAPT Whorton was returned by the USPS as “Not deliverable – unable to forward”, I found the obituary below. CAPT Whorton served as CO of VP-4 from 3 Dec 1968 to 28 Oct 1969.
WIlliam R. Whorton
August 12, 1927 – January 8, 2015
Funeral services will be Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Collier-Butler Chapel for Captain William R. Whorton, USN, 87, of Gadsden, AL, who passed away Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. The Rev. Jeremy Beck will officiate. Burial will follow in Forrest Cemetery. Collier-Butler Funeral and Cremation services is directing. Captain Whorton’s great-great-grandfather Whorton was one of the original settlers of Whorton Bend in the early 1800s. His grandfather was born in 1847; his grandmother was of the Wilson family, another early settler of the area; she was born in 1870. His father was born in 1892 in what is known now as Whorton Bend. He was born and raised in Etowah County. He joined the Navy in 1945 and remained on active duty until 1946. He re-entered the Navy during the Korean War and flew with Patrol Squadron 11. He served as a flight instructor for advanced flight training. Following the Korean War, Whorton had various assignments, including commanding officer of a squadron assigned to Vietnam, operations officer for the 7th fleet, staffer for the chief of naval operations and defense attaché to Uruguay. He attained the rank of Captain. Local schooling for the future naval officer was at Striplin Elementary, Disque Junior High and two years at Gadsden High School. He was an Eagle Scout and served as manager of the GHS Tigers football team under coach Nurmi Nelson. As this was during WWII, he transferred to Morgan Prep School, a military prep school, in Petersburg, Tenn. He played football there during his junior and senior years. Graduation came in May 1945. A month later, Whorton was undergoing U.S. Navy “boot” training in Memphis. He was in Aviation Radio School when the war ended. A year later, he was separated from the service but remained in the inactive reserve. He enrolled at the University of Alabama and attended for two years, afterward he transferred to Tusculum College (Presbyterian) in Greenville Tenn., and graduated with a degree in business in 1950. At this time, the Korean War was underway, and Whorton was recalled to active duty. He applied for pilot training and was sent to the Navy’s flight school. He got his wings and commission in March 1952, then joined a squadron and wound up flying combat missions in Korea. When the tour of duty ended, the Navy sent him to post-graduate school at Monterrey, Calif., where he earned a master’s degree in foreign relations. When on Christmas leave between his Korean tour and arrival on the West Coast, Whorton met Marian Short. Romance ensued. The couple married in June 1955. Then there came a tour of duty as an instructor of flight training at Hutchinson, Kan. After that, he was ordered to attend Intelligence School in Washington, D.C. Whorton was a member of Gadsden’s First Presbyterian Church, where he served as an elder for over 30 years. He was the church’s treasurer and business administrator for 10 years. He was a Gideon and active in Gideons International. His activities included the Kiwanis Club, The 21 Supper Club and serving on the board of the MOAA, a retired military officer’s club. He served for two years as chairman of the Gadsden Civil Service Board. During his time in the military, he received various honors and medals including the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Combat Air Medal, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korea Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and United Nations Service Medal. On Nov. 7, 2007, he was honored with induction into the Patriots Hall of Honor during Veterans Day activities in his hometown of Gadsden.He was preceded in death by his wife, Marian Short Whorton; brother, James Whorton; and sister, Betty Thayer. He is survived by his daughter, Jeanne Whorton.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to your favorite military charity or the American Cancer Society .Special thanks to Lawanda McElyea, RN, at Gadsden Regional Medical Center, ninth-floor south, for her dedicated nursing skills and her limitless compassion and also to his Regency Pointe family. Living there made him very happy. The family will receive friends from noon until 2 p.m., prior to the service. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.collier-butler.com.
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Larry Hames
VP-4 1975 – 1978
VP-4 Veterans Assn Database Manager
database@vp4association.com
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