Wiley Garland III 1937-2019
Wiley L. Garland, III was loved and appreciated by generations in his community for his willingness to help them find solutions to their financial needs. He had a quick wit and a big heart and he will be missed dearly by his family, who adored him.
He was born in Grand Saline on Sept. 18, 1937, to Genelle Hopkins and Wiley Lee Garland Jr. He graduated from Grand Saline High School in 1956 where he was an outstanding athlete.
He attended SMU on a baseball scholarship. While there, he was President of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, where he made lifelong friendships.
After graduating from college, he entered the banking business in Dallas. He returned to his hometown and began his long career at the First National Bank of Grand Saline.
In 1965, he thwarted a gun-wielding bank robber by repeatedly punching him in the face. His heroics received acclaim from the press and commendation from the FBI.
He also worked many years at Citizens National Bank, served on the board of Southside Bank, was in the oil and gas business, in the cattle and ranching business, and developed real estate.
The Grand Saline community benefited from decades of his leadership. He served on the Grand Saline ISD School Board for 18 years, with several terms as president; Chairman of the Cosby-Germany Hospital Board, Chairman of the Grand Saline Economic Development Board, Chairman of the Woodside Cemetery Board and was an honorary member of the Grand Saline Rodeo Association.
He was the 1965 Grand Saline Man of the Year and received recognition from the Texas Bankers Association for 50 Years of Banking.
He was an avid hunter his entire life, loving quail hunting above all other forms of the sport. It gave him great joy from working his dogs, hearing a covey rise, and making the perfect wing shot.
Survivors include his beloved wife, Barbara, of Grand Saline; children, Susan Garland Allison and husband, Gordon, of Fayetteville, Ark., Leanne Garland Hudson and husband, Floyd, from Tulsa, Okla., Wiley Lane Garland and wife, Sundy, of Pittsburg, Leanne Rogers Browning and husband, Johnathon, of Flint; and seven grandchildren, Gordon Allison, Jr, Garland Allison, Caitlyn Garland, Guyton Garland, Katherine Barlow, Matthew Barlow, and Landrey Browning.
Services were held Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, at Main Street Baptist Church with Bro. Eddie Paul Stanley officiating. A private family graveside service followed at Woodside Cemetery, under the direction of Bartley Funeral Home.
If desired, memorials would be greatly appreciated by Woodside Cemetery.
