Ayer "A.C." Whitley

A.C. Whitley, 80, completed his life journey on November 7, 2019 and has moved on to a better place.

He was born July 14, 1939 and was the son of the late Dr. Ayer C. and Orena Walters Whitley of Palmyra Virginia.

Survived by his wife Phyllis Campbell Whitley of Spotsylvania; his daughters, Dr. Helene Whitley of Athens, Georgia and Ayer M. Rydén (Hans) of Atlanta, Georgia; and two grandsons, Carl Ayer Rydén and Erik Reed Rydén of Atlanta Georgia.

A.C. attended Woodbury Forest School in Madison County for a while and later transferred to Christ Church in Tappahannock.  He then attended Washington and Lee University and graduated from Randolph Macon College with a degree in Chemistry.

He served with the Air National Guard of Virginia and the Reserve of the United States Air Force until 1968 and then was employed by CITCO in Virginia Beach before transferring to New York where he was the Regional Manager of their Manhattan Properties.

After moving to the Fredericksburg area in 1977, he and Phyllis became active in the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, and became contributors to the Chamber Music Festival and Bluemont Concerts. He was also a member of Masonic Lodge Number 4 and the Scottish Rite.

A.C. and Phyllis were co-owners of the Chancellor Insurance Center for a number of years.  They sold this business and formed the Chancellor Investment Center where A.C. would remodel and sell homes helping to fill a need for low income families.

He was a sculptor, apprenticing with noted artist Retha Walden Gambaro. He was a lifetime member of the Fluvanna County Historical Society in Palmyra, Virginia.  In 1990 the Whitleys became active in the Fredericksburg-Fréjus, France Sister City Association. They frequently welcomed French adults and students into their home and hosted many groups at their home “North Light” in Spotsylvania.  Student exchanges were paramount in their involvement.  Fund raising for scholarships for local students was always a priority for them.  Many scholarship recipients have reported how life changing their trips to France have been to them.  Today there are around 20 young French people remembering the year they came to America and A.C. treated them all to a performance of “Blue Man Group” in New York City before they traveled to Fredericksburg.  He and Phyllis were responsible for bringing the 102 piece Gambaro Exhibition to Fréjus, raising funds to sponsor the trip.  Mr. Whitley served as President for FSCA for 2006-2007.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 on Monday, November 11, 2019 at the Covenant Funeral Service, Fredericksburg, with a Masonic Ceremony performed at 5:00 p.m.       

On November 13   the family will welcome friends and family from 10:00am to 11:00am at the Pivont Funeral Home in Hinton West Virginia. A short service will follow with the burial at the nearby Barger Springs Family Cemetery.  

           In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to Shriners Hospital for Children –Greenville, 950 W. Faris Road, Greenville, SC 29605 or Student Scholarship Fund, Fredericksburg-Frejus Sister City Association, Inc., P.O. Box 7253, Fredericksburg VA 22404.