Thomas Mervyn Whisenant

Memorial for Thomas Mervyn Whisenant, 71, of Slidell will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, at the DeBerry Funeral Chapel in Denton. A graveside service will follow at Kyuka Cemetery in Duck Springs, Ala.

Whisenant died Thursday, Oct. 5, 2006, in Decatur.

Born Dec. 5, 1934, in Etowah County, Ala., to Dewey H. and Velma Naylor, he attended Auburn University and served in the Naval Air with Patrol Squadron 22 from 1954 to 1956, flying surveillance missions over the China Coast. He received a National Defense Citation and Air Medal for this. He also worked in the construction industry and as a long-haul owner and operator. He enjoyed flying and building.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers, Arnold and W.C. Whisenant.

He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Mary Schleigh Holtz Whisenant; sons, Todd Holtz and his wife, Angela, of Denton, Mark Whisenant and his wife, Nora, of Marietta, Ga., and Michael Morris of Lexington, Ky.; a daughter, Meaghan Morris of Chicago, Ill.; grandchildren, Will Thomas Holtz of Denton, Aaron Whisenant of Marietta, Taylor and Rachel Morris-Dempsey of Killeen; and sisters, Vera Stephens, Betty Malone and Dean White.