Wilma Whisnant

MORGANTON Mrs. Wilma Bolay Whisnant, 89, died Thursday, April 12, 2012 at Grace Ridge Retirement Community. Born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1922, Mrs. Whisnant worked as a translator for the U.S. Army during World War II. During the war she met and married her late husband, James Clayton Whisnant, a Morganton native. Together they moved to Morganton after the war to raise their family. Mrs. Whisnant was a substitute teacher for the Morganton City Schools in the 1970s and 1980s. She loved the game of bridge and the company of her close friends. She will be greatly missed by her family. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Clayton Whisnant; her daughter, Diana Whisnant Webb; and her son, Clayton Bolay Whisnant. Those left to cherish Oma's memory include her grandchildren, James Rusmisell, and his wife, Amanda of Charlotte, Amy Harper and her husband, Johan of Atlanta, Ga. and Jon Rusmisell of Charlotte. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren, Quinn Rusmisell, Gabe Rusmisell, Maxwell Rusmisell and Bennett Rusmisell. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, April 14, in the Colonial Chapel of Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center with Vicar Carolyn Remaklus officiating. Burial will follow in Burke Memorial Park. The family will receive friends at the funeral home for one hour prior to the service. Memorials may be made in her memory to Calvary Lutheran Church, 119 N. King Street, Morganton, NC 28655 or Burke Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., 1721 Enon Rd., Valdese, NC 28690.

Published in The News Herald on April 13, 2012