Obituary of Wilton Gravley

Wilton Gravley departed his body on October 12, 2018 at the age of 94 well-lived years. He was born on November 2, 1923, the 6th of 10 children of William Arthur and Pearl Perry Gravley, a proud member of one of Dallas County’s founding families. Left to grieve his passing and to celebrate his memory are his wife of 72 years, Mary Helen Gravley, sons Wilton Perry Gravley and his wife, Lea, James Rolston Gravley and his wife, Rae, grandchildren Stephen Perry Gravley, Paul Nathan Gravley and his wife, Stephanie, Carol Leanne Gravley and her spouse, Avery, extended grandchildren Rebecca Swisher, Amy Jensen and her husband, Chris, and Jess Barr and his wife, Ashley, great grandsons Luke, Noah, and Eli, extended great-grandchildren Jason, Brandon, Mattie, Alex and Liam, extended great-great-granddaughter Kayla, along with the incredible, expansive clans of Perrys, Gravleys and Rolstons whom Wilton adored. Unfortunately, it is impossible to adequately convey in these few lines the essence, accomplishments or legacy of this member of the Greatest Generation, who picked cotton on his parents’ farm, hitchhiked away from home at the age of 17 to chase his dreams, regaled us with hyperbole of a legendary trip to Seattle in his youth, served his country honorably in World War II, married the love of his life, Mary Helen Rolston, within a few weeks of meeting her, earned a masters degree in mechanical engineering with honors from SMU, pioneered and patented directional and offshore drilling techniques in a stellar career with Mobil Oil Corporation, assisted in the construction of, and served for many years on the board of, First United Methodist Church in Carrollton, participated in both business and official capacities in the thawing of diplomatic and trade relations between the United States and China in the early 1970’s, was a fiercely competitive bridge player, an avid square dancer and caller, a skilled shade-tree mechanic, a world traveler, a man who adhered to, and embodied, the highest moral principles, was brilliant, friendly, kind, wise, patient, generous, loving, caring, a gentleman in every sense of the word, a possessor of penetrating insight, a man of unassailable integrity, yet one who humbly and often referred to himself as a “general flunkie”. Countless lives have been enriched by the depth of Wilton’s character and example, and our world is a better place because Wilton passed through.

Wilton would be honored by donations to your favorite charity in his memory, rather than flowers.