George Arles Talley

Mr. George Arles Talley, 89 of Centre, passed away Monday, December 05, 2011 at Cherokee Medical Center. Funeral services will be held at 11 A.M. Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at the Perry Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Brett Clements and Rev. Doyle Kerr officiating. Burial will follow at the Cherokee Memory Gardens in Centre with Perry Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. The family will receive visitors on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 from 6 to 8 pm at the funeral home. Survivors include his wife, Sara Ruth Abernathy Talley of Centre; one stepson, Randall McCord of Silver Creek, GA; two brothers, Afton Talley of Gadsden, AL and Radford Talley of Villa Rica, GA; two step grandchildren, two step great-grandchildren, and many cousins, nephews, and nieces. Honorary pallbearers will be Dale Abernathy, Ron Barrett, Phillip Campbell, Jimmie Dupree, Jamie McCord, Scott McCord, Dana Talley, Gary Talley, and Steve Talley. Mr. Talley was a native of Cullman County, AL, the son of the late J.H. and Ludie Chambers Talley. He spent most of his life at his home in the Whorton Community of Cherokee County and was a longtime active member of New Bethel Baptist Church. He retired from Crompton Industries in 1982 and was the proprietor, with his wife, of Talley’s Ladies & Children clothing store in the West Main Shopping Center from 1960-1983. In his youth, Mr. Talley served in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Randolph County, AL, California, and Oregon before enlisting the US Army on December 7, 1942. During World War II, Mr. Talley served as a PFC Heavy Machine Gunner in H Company, 39th Infantry Regiment, Third Army, Ninth Division, and fought in the North Africa Campaign, the liberation of Sicily, and the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France where he was wounded, receiving a Purple Heart Medal. After recovering in England, he fought again in France and Belgium, where he was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge during the Ardennes Offensive, receiving a second Purple Heart and four Bronze Star Medals. After his honorable discharge, Mr. Talley earned his G.E. Diploma and worked in various industries in Patterson, NJ; Cedartown, GA; Gadsden, AL; and Leesburg, AL. He was a member of the Forney/Sam Dixon Masonic Lodge and was active in the Centre American Legion and D.A.V. Chapters. Mr. Talley engaged in farming for much of his life and enjoyed gardening, raising livestock, and preserving fruits and vegetables. He was a master craftsman and carpenter, having built several houses in the Whorton Community, including his own, and participated in the Carpenters for Christ ministry. He enjoyed designing and constructing woodcraft items in his workshop and giving them to family and friends. In 2004, his family took him to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC; where he reminisced about his service to the country. Many of these reminiscences are published in the book If It Ain’t One Change, It’s Another: A Memoir, authored by his brother, Radford Talley. Memorial contributions may be made to the Disabled American Veterans Organization, a favorite charity or the family will accept flowers. PDF Printable Version

George Arles Talley

December 5, 2011