WOODVILLE — Services for Glen Ray Whetstone Jr., 87, who died Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, in the company of his family, will be 2 p.m. Monday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Woodville. He was two weeks shy of his 88th birthday.

Burial will follow at the Evergreen Cemetery under the direction of Newman Funeral Home in Centreville.

Visitation will be from noon until service time Monday at the church.

Mr. Whetstone was a native of Oakwood Plantation in Wilkinson County. He was a 1946 graduate of Tallulah High School in Tallulah, La. During his formative years, he also earned the Eagle Scout rank with the Boy Scouts of America. He went on to earn his bachelor of arts degree from Louisiana State University, where he was a proud member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After serving his country for two years as a 1st Lt. in the U.S. Air Force in Mobile, Ala., Glen Ray earned his master of education degree from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Glen Ray returned home to Woodville and taught history and Spanish and served as principal of Woodville Attendance Center and headmaster of Wilkinson County Christian Academy. He was a successful head baseball coach as well, leading his teams to wins in two state championships and eight division championships.

“Mr. Whet,” as his players called him, loved to quote the late golfer, Byron Nelson, by saying, “You can’t take the money to the grave with you, but you can take the championships.” He liked nothing more than leading young men to victory in the sport that he loved so dearly. The baseball field at Wilkinson County Christian Academy has been named in his honor.

In his spare time, Glen Ray was an avid outdoorsman and tree farmer (2004 Mississippi Tree Farmer of the Year) who enjoyed being a well-rounded woodsman. Even though his camp is full of his trophy white-tailed deer mounts, he prided himself the most on his hundreds of successful hunts of the elusive eastern wild turkey. One of his favorite places to be was in the woods on a “cool, sunburst,” spring morning, with turkeys gobbling from their roosts. Glen Ray served as the president of Tansey Island Hunting Club for seven years and captain of the hunt for many more.

Survivors include his dedicated wife, Kitty; three children, Frances Fitzgerald, Catherine McCarty and Glen Ray Whetstone III; four grandchildren, Russell, Kitty, Daniel and Kate; and three great-grandchildren, Elle, Kate and Jude.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Glen Ray Whetstone Field at Wilkinson County Christian Academy or to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.