Midland Mayor L.W. 'Bunk' Whitley, who helped lead the town's incorporation effort in 1999, died Friday at North East Medical Center in Concord [North Carolina]. He was 76.

Whitley, a native of the southeastern Cabarrus County community, and others wanted to prevent Midland from being annexed by other fast-growing municipalities. He died of a heart attack and had heart problems in the past, said Cabarrus County commissioners' Chairman Carolyn Carpenter. 'Bunk was kind of the cement that held us all together,' said Dan Short, the town's first mayor. 'He was the one who got the ball rolling in that direction.'

Whitley served on Midland's first town council. When Short resigned in August 2003, the council appointed Whitley as mayor. Whitley was elected in November 2003 to fill the remainder of Short's term, which ends this November. He hadn't planned on seeking another term, said his daughter, Lorraine Peebles. The Midland Town Council will appoint someone to fill in as mayor until November's election. Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Tucker now serves as acting mayor.

Whitley, who served for six years as the county Republican party chairman in the 1990s, used his political connections to help boost the incorporation effort, Short said. 'Bunk liked to sit down in his office on Saturday mornings and use that telephone,' Short said.

In 1960, Whitley founded Whitley Manufacturing, which made handles for mops, brooms and tools. He would donate the handles to candidates he supported to use as stakes for political signs, Carpenter said. When Carpenter first ran for county commissioner in 1990, Whitley acted as a mentor, she said, introducing her to many people in the Midland area.

Whitley and his wife, Arlene, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a party at Bethel Methodist Church of Christ last year, Peebles said. Besides his political involvement, Whitley also was active at Hickory Grove Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon. He also was a pilot and used to spend most weekends flying his Cessna Skyhawk, Peebles said. 'He is really going to be missed,' Carpenter said. 'He cared so much for the community.'

(The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, NC, 29 Mar 2005, Page 3B - courtesy of Tedd Cocker)

Grave marker for LO. W. Whitley in the First Baptist Church Cemetery Midland Cabarrus County North Carolina.