Wiley Lee Garland III

Wiley L. Garland, III was loved and appreciated by generations in his community for his willingness to help them find solutions to their financial needs. He had a quick wit and a big heart and he will be missed dearly by his family, who adored him.

Wiley was born in Grand Saline, Texas September 18, 1937 to Genelle Hopkins and Wiley Lee Garland, Jr. He graduated from Grand Saline High School in 1956, where he was an outstanding athlete. He attended SMU on a baseball scholarship. While there, he was President of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, where he made lifelong friendships.

After graduating from college, Wiley entered the banking business in Dallas. He returned to his hometown and began his long career at the First National Bank of Grand Saline. In 1965, he thwarted a gun-wielding bank robber by repeatedly punching him in the face. His heroics received acclaim from the press and commendation from the FBI.

Wiley also worked many years at Citizens National Bank, served on the board of Southside Bank, was in the oil and gas business, in the cattle and ranching business, and developed real estate.

The Grand Saline community benefited from decades of Wiley's leadership. He served on the Grand Saline ISD School Board for 18 years, with several terms as president, Chairman of the Cosby-Germany Hospital Board, Chairman of the Grand Saline Economic Development Board, Chairman of the Woodside Cemetery Board, and was an honorary member of the Grand Saline Rodeo Association. He was the 1965 Grand Saline Man of the Year, received the Pioneer Award from the Grand Saline Chamber of Commerce in 2003, and received recognition from the Texas Bankers Association for 50 Years of Banking.

Wiley was an avid hunter his entire life, loving quail hunting above all other forms of the sport. It gave him great joy from working his dogs, hearing a covey rise, and making the perfect wing shot.

Survivors include his beloved wife, Barbara of Grand Saline; children Susan Garland Allison and husband Gordon of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Leanne Garland Hudson and husband Floyd from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Wiley Lane Garland and wife Sundy of Pittsburg, Texas, Leanne Rogers Browning and husband Jonathon of Tyler, Texas; and seven grandchildren; Gordon Allison, Jr, Garland Allison, Caitlyn Garland, Guyton Garland, Katherine Barlow, Matthew Barlow, and Landry Browning.

Services for Wiley are scheduled for 11 am, Tuesday, January 15, 2019, at Main Street Baptist Church, Bro. Eddie Paul Stanley officiating. A private family graveside service will follow at Woodside Cemetery, under the direction of Bartley Funeral Home. Visitation will be Monday, January 14, 2019, from 6-8 pm at the funeral home.

If desired, memorials would be greatly appreciated by Woodside Cemetery.