FORNEY, Texas — The Forney City Council is seeking input from the public on the possibility of naming a new road adjacent to the new Forney Fire Department Fire Station No. 2 in honor of long-time Forney resident and antique pioneer Glenn “Red” Whaley.
FORNEY, Texas — The Forney City Council is seeking input from the public on the possibility of naming a new road adjacent to the new Forney Fire Department Fire Station No. 2 in honor of long-time Forney resident and antique pioneer Glenn “Red” Whaley.
After a discussion during the August 4, 2015, council meeting, the council tabled the matter for further discussion at their September 15, 2015, meeting in hopes of gathering public input on the matter. Input can be emailed to pio@cityofforney.org.
Whaley died at the age of 82 on December 14, 2013, after battling a lengthy illness. Whaley, a Korean War veteran, established Forney's first antique store in 1968 and helped put Forney on the map as the “Antique Capital of Texas.”
Whaley was born October 20, 1931, in Dallas, Texas, and grew up in Irving, Texas, where he became an Eagle Scout and a volunteer fireman. He served in the Korean War as a military police officer and returned from the war to become a full-time firefighter for the Irving Fire Department. According to his obituary, he also served as one of the Irving Fire Department's first battalion chiefs.
Upon moving to Forney and continuing the antique business, Whaley ventured into real estate development in Kaufman County but his love and passion for the fire service never left him.
Around 2003, Whaley donated a substantial sum of money to complete the construction of the District 6 Forney Fire Department Substation on Windy Lane in Forney, Texas, where a plaque remains today honoring his contributions.
The plaque reads: “The Forney Volunteer Fire Department dedicates this complex in honor of Glen “Red” Whaley and family, whose financial contributions and faithful support of the fire services made this building possible. -2003”
