Wayne Louis Whelan

Wayne Louis Whelan, 87, of Mt Pleasant, South Carolina, husband of the late Carlton Harville Whelan, died peacefully on February 19, 2026. A memorial service will be held Sunday, February 22, 2026 at First United Methodist Church - Isle of Palms, 12 21st Avenue, Isle of Palms, SC 29451, at 2:00 pm. Following the service the family will receive friends in the Lupo Fellowship Hall. Inurnment will follow at a later date in Sunset Memorial Park in Chester, Virginia. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Mt Pleasant.

Wayne was born January 10, 1939, in Colonial Heights, Virginia, son of the late Clarence R. Whelan and the late Ruby Farris Whelan. He was educated formally at Flora M. Hill School, Petersburg High School, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, College of William and Mary, Pacific States University and Harvard University. He was educated for life and living by his parents, grandparents, wife, daughters, teachers, coaches, scoutmasters, pastors and many caring, patient and loving friends. At UVA, he played varsity football and was a member of the V Club, Phi Gamma Delta Social Fraternity, Phi Delta Kappa Honor Society, Thomas Jefferson Society and a Life Member of the Alumni Association. Following service in the U.S. Army, his professional career was devoted to education and he held leadership positions at several colleges and universities, retiring in 2005 as Vice President for Continuing Education and Economic Development at Trident Technical College. He was a recognized leader in state, regional, national and international professional organizations and served as President and Executive Vice President of the Association for Continuing Higher Education, which honored him with its Leadership, Meritorious Service and Emeritus Awards. The Association continues to award annual graduate scholarships named in his honor. He was published in refereed journals and taught undergraduate psychology and graduate education courses.

Much of his life was devoted to avenues of service through church missions. When living in Knoxville, TN, he led summer work teams into Appalachia to do re-builds and re-habs on deteriorating houses. After moving to Mt Pleasant, he went twice to the Gulf Coast to do Katrina re-builds. FUMC Isle of Palms then developed a strong relationship with Epworth Children’s Home in Columbia, SC and he worked on more than twenty renovation projects there between 1993 and 2025. Also, at FUMC he taught the Boone Bowen adult class for more than twenty years.

Prior to developing arthritis in his hands, he took great pride in playing the Great Highland Bagpipes and led the establishment of a scholarship fund through which youth pipers can attend summer piping school.

An avowed Anglophile, he especially relished trips to the U.K. and London. He loved riding trains and openly embraced the thought expressed in an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem: “there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take, no matter where it’s going.”

Known within the family as “Skipper,” he is survived by his daughters, Karen Lynne Smith and Whitney Hoffman Dye; grandchildren Joseph H. Smith V and Caitlyn Grace Stall, great-granddaughter Brynlee Stall, and several loving nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Epworth Children’s Home, P.O. Box 50466, Columbia, SC 29250-9988.