Una Lucille Price Wheatley

Una Lucille Price Wheatley, of Charleston, WV, passed away at peace with God, surrounded by family on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at CAMC Memorial Hospital. She was 97.
Lucille, or “Granny” as known by family and friends, was born on July 2, 1921 to Thomas and Nettie Ann (Owen) Gillenwater of Lincoln County, West Virginia.
As a little girl, she often spoke of her childhood growing up in Alum Creek, Nellis and Ridgeview, taking rowboats across the Coal River and riding the local train into Madison.
In 1941, she met her first husband, Denver, at the Madison, WV, bus depot during World War II. They were married on April 21, 1944 and spent their last 18 years of marriage on a farm at Camp Creek, Boone County; gardening and raising livestock, until his passing in 1995.
Four years later, Lucille married Emil Wheatley, of Rock Creek, WV, where she lived until he passed away in 2006.
Lucille led a full and rewarding life, writing poems, gardening, canning, reading, playing board games and beating everyone at Chinese checkers. She was also a well respected businesswoman and floral designer as the owner and manager of the well-known Price Gift Shop in Madison during the 1960s. She was also an outstanding chef, preparing some of the best meals many of us have ever experienced, including her famous gooseberry pie. She also took great pride in sharing this knowledge with her family, many of whom have gone on to be fantastic cooks.
She was quite the prankster, and did her best to “scare” her grandchildren when they were least expecting it. It was one of the many things that people loved about her.
Lucille had a great number of passions, but first and foremost among them was her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. As the family’s matriarch, she cared for them more than she did herself, which is the true definition of love. She taught them all the value of hard work and that the meaning of real success was not measured in how much money you make but in how many lives you positively impacted. By those measures, Lucille was tremendously successful.
While we mourn the overwhelming loss of such a remarkable woman, we also celebrate her life and the extraordinary impact she had on all of those who were blessed to have known her. We’re thankful for the time she graced this earth and we are comforted knowing that her pain and suffering have come to an end. She may no longer be watching over us in person, we know that she will continue her watch over us in Heaven.
Lucille was predeceased by her parents, her first husband, Denver Cody Price, of Madison, WV and her second husband, Emily Wheatley, of Rock Creek, WV. She was also predeceased by her daughters, Phyllis Joy Casey and Carol Sue DeVere, her brother Jack Gillenwater and son-in-law Thomas Wayne Keller.
She is survived by her daughter, Kathy Keller of Charleston, her son-in-law Bob DeVere of Charleston; her stepson, Edward Wheatley of Charleston, her brother Thomas Lyle Gillenwater of Fulton, Tennessee; her grandchildren Nick Keller and his wife Allison of Charleston; Ben DeVere and his wife Carrie, of Dunbar; Jerry Casey and his wife Laurie of Kenna; Amanda Holland and her husband Steve of Dunlap, Tennessee; Michael Casey and his wife Lisa of Charleston; and Stacey Izaguirre and her husband Oscar of Greenhills, Ohio; her great-grandchildren, Cody Casey, Zachary Holland, Ashley Casey, Joey Jones, Chris Jones, Abrielle DeVere, Denver Keller, and Sophia and Gabriella Izaguirre and great-great grandchildren Corbin Casey, Carter Casey and Blake McCallister.
The family would like to thank the hospital doctors and nursing staff of 3 East and South wings for the compassionate care they provided to Lucille during her last days.
A visitation will be held on Friday, January 18, 2018 from 6-8 PM at Handley Funeral Home in Danville, WV