Wilbur Leroy Wetzel of Cross Roads, Texas went home to be with the Lord on August 3, 2018, at the age of 74. He was born on October 3, 1943 to Forest Everette and Mabel Marguerite (Best) Wetzel in Dayton, Ohio. Wilbur was raised in Germantown, Ohio. He joined the United States Air Force in 1963 and proudly served this country for 53 years in one capacity or another. Wilbur spent 21 years, 6 months and 23 days in the Air Force. The first 10 years of his military career he worked in flight simulators. For 11 years, he worked as a special agent for Office of Special Investigations. The last 31 years, he was a contractor for the Department of Energy and 24 years of those years he spent working for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions in Aiken, South Carolina. He married Christine Blake on May 16, 1965 in Wilmington, South Carolina.
Wilbur is survived by his wife of 53 years, Christine L. Wetzel; daughter, May Dawn Wetzel and husband, Ronald Smith of Cross Roads, Texas; and brother, Jerry Ray Wetzel of Germantown, Ohio.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Forest and Mabel Wetzel of Germantown, Ohio; sister, Lois L. Garringer of Lancaster California; and brother, Karl Everette Wetzel of Germantown, Ohio.
A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, August 17, 2018 at Dallas-Ft. Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, Texas 75211. The family will receive friends during a visitation on Thursday evening, August 16, from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas 75013.