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Wallace Clay Nunley, Sr. MD, age 91, of 3
Ingalls Street, Clifton Forge, Virginia died
Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at his home,
with his family by his side. Dr. Nunley was
born July 28, 1921 in Smoot, West Virginia,
son of the late Ralph Garland and Jennie
Irene Bennett Nunley. Being a physician was
a dream Dr. Nunley held, even as a child in
the third grade. His early education
included schools in Meadow Creek, WV,
Quinwood, WV, Verona, VA and Crawley, WV,
which was a two room school house that is
still standing today. He graduated from
Rainelle High School, then worked for three
years to earn enough money to begin his
freshman year at Hampden-Sydney College in
Farmville, graduating with honors in 1944.
That same year, he began his medical studies
at the University of Virginia, receiving his
degree in 1948. He then entered the
residency program at the University of
Virginia, finishing in 1950.
For the first ten years of his career, he
was both family practitioner and
obstetrician in Rupert, WV. In 1959, Dr.
Nunley moved his practice and his family to
Clifton Forge and continued to serve the
community for thirty-one years. During the
span of his career, he made countless house
calls, saw thousands of patients, and
delivered over 6,000 babies. He touched many
lives throughout his medical practice, but
was active in the community in many other
ways. His medical memberships included the
Virginia Academy of Family Practice, the
American Academy of Family Practice, the
Alleghany-Bath Medical Society (Past
President), the Virginia Medical Society,
the American Medical Association, the Fellow
Academy of Family Practice, and the
Alleghany Regional Hospital Staff, where he
served as Past President of Medical Staff,
was Chairman of numerous hospital
committees, and was on the Alleghany
Regional Hospital Board. Following the sale
of the hospital to HCA, he continued to
serve on the board of The Alleghany
Foundation, which has since provided
millions of dollars in grants to numerous
organizations in the Highlands, making a
difference in the lives of so many area
residents. He was a member of the Board of
Directors of the former Mountain National
Bank in Clifton Forge and Colonial American
Bankshares Corporation, where he was Vice
Chairman of the Board, Chairman of the
Executive Committee, and Chairman of the
Long-range Planning Committee.
His civic memberships included the Rupert,
WV Rotary Club 1952 - 1959, the
Covington-Hot Springs Rotary Club 1972 -
2012, and the University of Virginia Student
Aid Foundation Board 1981 - 1989. Dr. Nunley
was raised in the Rainelle Masonic Lodge in
1944, and continued to have a very active
Masonic history throughout his life in
Clifton Forge; Clifton Forge Masonic Lodge #
166 A.F. & A.M., Roanoke Scottish Rite
Bodies, Kazim Temple A.A.O.N.M.S. (Kazim
Temple Divan 1982 and Past Potentate 1989),
Clifton Forge Shrine Club, Hot Springs
Shrine Club (Past President 1987), South
Atlantic Shrine Association (Past
President), and Roanoke Court # 59 Royal
Order of Jesters (Past Director). He was
also a member of the Clifton Forge Elks
Lodge B.P.O.E 1065, the Clifton Forge Coffee
Club, and Central United Methodist Church.
In his free time, he enjoyed golfing and
watching any sporting events, and was an
avid supporter of the University of Virginia
Sports Program. His generosity to the people
and organizations he so loved will never be
forgotten. In addition to his parents, he
was preceded in death by a sister, Anna
Nunley Alderson.
He is survived by his wife, Marguerite
Maddex Nunley of Clifton Forge; a son, Dr.
Wallace C. Nunley, Jr. and wife Donna of
Charlottesville; a daughter, Carolyn Sue
Nunley Wilkinson and husband Howard of
Barhamsville; four grandchildren, Wallace
Clay Nunley III and wife Tara of Lynchburg,
Hunter Ryan Nunley of Newport News, Howard
Preston Wilkinson III and wife Melissa of
Glen Allen, and Katherine Clay King and
husband Jamie of Glen Allen; four great
grandchildren, Michael James King, Carson
Clay King, Howard Preston “Trip” Wilkinson
IV, and Landon Hunter Nunley; numerous
cousins, nephews, and nieces; and a host of
friends, including Shriners, Elks, and other
friends throughout the Alleghany Highlands.
Special appreciation goes to Dr. James
Ballou for his compassionate care, to the
Clifton Forge Rescue Squad, to Regional Home
Care and Mountain Regional Hospice, and
especially to the many caregivers who
assisted him over the years, and more
recently, specifically Pam Douglas and
Phyllis Church.
A funeral service will be conducted on
Saturday at 11:00 AM in Central United
Methodist Church, Clifton Forge with
Reverend Ned Alderman and Mr. James David
Williams officiating. Masonic rites will be
presented at the church by members of the
Clifton Forge Masonic Lodge # 166 A.F. &
A.M. The family will receive friends on
Friday evening from 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM at
Nicely Funeral Home, Clifton Forge.
Entombment will take place on Sunday at 1:00
PM in Monticello Memorial Gardens Mausoleum
in Charlottesville. Active pallbearers will
be Jamie King, Clay Nunley, Ryan Nunley,
Preston Wilkinson, Harvey Burns, and Herbert
Sams. Honorary pallbearers will be Hank Via,
George Kostel, Benny Albright, Jim Eller,
Tommy Slusser, Terry Slaughter, Jim Snyder,
Bruce Profitt, Glenn Jones, Glenn Perry,
Charlie Kahle Tom Dean, Tom Dunkenberger,
Buck Rumpf, Raymond Claterbaugh, Roy Putnam,
and Carl Brinkley. Nicely Funeral Home,
Clifton Forge is in charge of arrangements.
The family suggests memorial tributes take
the form of contributions to one of the
following; the Kazim Temple Transportation
Fund, C/O James Eller, 1201 Crestwood
Avenue, Clifton Forge, Virginia 24422, the
Central United Methodist Church, P.O. Box
16, Clifton Forge, Virginia 24422, or the
Clifton Forge Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 419,
Clifton Forge, Virginia 24422. |