Former 39th Circuit Judge passes away
Shown at left, is former 39th Circuit Judge, Bob Wiley, with his wife, Jeanelle.
June 9
Sheila Harris
Robert (Bob) Wiley, former 39th District Circuit Judge and long-time friend of the late Missouri Senator Emory Melton, died Thursday, June 3, at age 78.
Marty Jenkins, publisher of The Barry County Advertiser - owned by Melton Publications - recalls how Senator Melton and Judge Wiley always worked weekends and were each aware of the other’s proclivity for doing so.
“They often got together for a few minutes on those working weekends,” Jenkins said, “to talk about things attorneys talk about.”
Wiley, a native of Hurley, grew up swimming and fishing in Spring Creek and roaming the woods in Stone County. After graduating as Valedictorian from Hurley High School, he attended Missouri State University (then SMSU) on a scholarship, where he majored in Political Science. He also participated in ROTC, which resulted in a commission as Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
According to Wiley’s daughter, Elizabeth Exley, of Crane, after graduating from MSU, Wiley’s dream of becoming an attorney (from watching Perry Mason as a child) began to materialize with a full scholarship to law school at Washington University.
“His studies were interrupted by the Vietnam War, though,” Exley said.
The hiatus from school proved to have a far-reaching impact for Wiley. While attending basic training in Fort Gordon, Georgia (after voluntarily enrolling in the army as a member of the military police), he met his bride-to-be, Jeanelle. The couple married in 1966, just prior to Wiley’s tour in Vietnam.
Unknown to even his family until just a few years ago, while in Vietnam, Wiley earned a prestigious Bronze Star for his exemplary work.
“Humility was as deeply ingrained into Dad’s soul, as were the waters of Spring Creek,” his daughter Elizabeth said.
After Wiley returned from Vietnam, he completed his law degree with honors and he and Jeanelle moved to Crane, where Wiley opened a law office and was, said his daughter, the Ozarkian Andy Griffith of attorneys.
“His wisdom, generosity and gentle demeanor - often delivered with a joke - won everyone over,” Exley said. “He loved helping people and put in countless (often unpaid) hours to do so. He was known far and wide for his integrity.”
Wiley retired in 2018, due to health issues, after service as Stone County Prosecuting Attorney, Circuit Judge and Crane City Attorney.
“He would like to have worked until his death,” Exley said, “because he loved his work.”
According to Elizabeth Exley, Wiley was a man of many talents.
“He wrote a book and curated a museum based on his hero, Dewey Short,” she said. “He loved history, politics, writing and baseball - especially the Cleveland Indians. He wrote both serious and silly poetry and music and was a student of philosophy and the Bible; he taught others what he learned through Sunday School classes and lay sermons.
His interest in the Bible, Exley said, stemmed from a lifelong commitment to God, which began when Wiley was a child at Hurley Methodist Church, where he and his father walked down the aisle together.
According to Exley, Wiley’s devotion to God and family was unchanging and unshakable, even though his life was anything but easy.
“He gave God the glory for everything,” she said. “His last coherent words were, ‘I thank God for every day.’
Exley says Wiley is epitomized by Micah 6:8, which asks a question, then gives the answer: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Wiley leaves behind his wife, Jeanelle; his daughter, Elizabeth, and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death one month ago by his son, John Dale Wiley.
A visitation for Wiley will be held on June 17, from 5 - 7 p.m., at Westrip Funeral Home in Crane, with a private service to be held at a later time. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Reavisville Baptist Church, Jacob’s Ladder (end of life hospice care in Springfield where Bob passed peacefully because of their phenomenal care) or the Veteran’s and Military Coalition of the Ozarks.
