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Forest George "Junior" Wetzel Jr., 77, a resident of Elkins, West Virginia, departed this life late Friday evening, Aug. 23, 2024, at his home surrounded by his loving family and under the care of Mountain Hospice.
He was born Sunday, July 27, 1947, at Elkins, West Virginia, a son of the late Forest George Wetzel Sr. and Georgia Bosley Wetzel.
On Sept. 18, 2004, Junior married the love of his life, Alicia Mullennex Wetzel, who survives.
Having met in March of 1989, from that day forward, Junior and Alicia were inseparable, you rarely would see one without the other. They enjoyed 35 wonderful and blessed years together.
Junior graduated from Elkins High School in 1964 and shortly afterwards was first married to Anna Ruth Dunham Wetzel, who survives.
From that marriage, Junior was blessed with a daughter, Wendy Wetzel Smyton, who survives in Elkins, along with her husband Roger.
Wendy and Roger have two children, Garrett A. Smyton of Columbia, South Carolina, and Addison G. Smyton of Elkins.
Junior was very proud of his daughter, son-in-law and his grandchildren and enjoyed spending time with them.
Always the wise father and grandfather, Junior attempted to pass along his knowledge and practical life lessons to his daughter and grandchildren, hoping to leave them with a piece of their family history in the process and hopes of carrying on his legacy.
Also surviving are one sister, Janice Dudley and brother-in-law Hubert, Cheimsford, Massachusetts; and one brother, Robert "Smoke" Wetzel and sister-in-law, Judy, Elkins.
Junior had a very special relationship with his sister and brother-in-law, Janice and Hubert, and enjoyed traveling to Massachusetts, as often as possible to spend time with them and their children and grandchildren. Junior especially enjoyed bantering and joking with his brother, Smoke, about all the going's on in the world and talking about the latest news and telling tall tales.
Junior had many occupations over the years. He worked from a young age with his parents at Streamline Market, where he worked as a meat cutter. He also helped many individuals cut meat as a favor. He and Anna Ruth ran a small grocery market for his parents in Parsons, West Virginia.
Junior worked for the F.E. Runner Funeral Home and Wright Funeral Home and did a lot of body transport when out of state pickup was required, was well-known as a Randolph County school bus driver, drove tanker trucks for Woodford Oil, sold tires, but most notably was known as a crane operator for Schleer Builders, working for Dick Geiser. Junior loved running that crane. There was not one neighborhood within the surrounding area that you could drive through without hearing about how he set the trusses on this house and that house and how their rooflines were designed. Junior had fun running that crane and did everything from setting trusses, lifting heating and air conditioning units, lifting building supplies, hot tubs, and once even helped the funeral home exhume and move a body from one location to another. The stories he would tell! Junior worked many years for Dick as a crane operator, painter, dump truck driver, you name it, he would do it. Dick was not only Junior's employer; Junior had a great respect and affection for Dick. They had a friendship that Junior treasured and the family would like to acknowledge Dick for everything he did for Junior and Alicia throughout the years but especially in the last weeks before Junior's death. After retiring from Schleer Builders, Junior could not stand staying home and not working so he went to work at Kroger Fuel Center to have a social outlet. Having never met a stranger, Junior enjoyed working at the Fuel Center and getting to know the customers and having long conversations with people passing through the area and giving them recommendations on places to go and things to see. Due to health reasons, Junior had to retire from the fuel center and became an official retiree, spending time staying at home and seeing what kind of home repairs or improvements he could conjure up and just helping run the household.
Junior loved life and lived for the day. He was always up for going places and hated to be still for very long. Having spent his younger years boating, he eventually tired of that and got the flying bug. Junior worked hard and gained his private pilot's license and was a prior member of the Elkins Pilots Club and the Tygarts Valley Aviation Association. Most recently, Junior was interested in traveling and he and Alicia were planning on doing some cross-country sight-seeing and purchased an RV. They were just beginning to get the feel of the RV and were spending weekends in Canaan Valley getting acclimated to the RV lifestyle. Junior and Alicia enjoyed spending time together doing the simple things, such as going on long Sunday drives, looking for new restaurants to try, binge watching tv, and playing with their cat Jingle. Junior was always ready to do a chicken burn or throw a steak on the grill for family and friends and genuinely enjoyed people.
Junior was a fighter. In 2016, he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and odds weren't good. Junior being Junior, wasn't taking this cancer thing lying down! Junior battled the lung cancer and took many treatments, radiation, and beat the odds! Junior had been cancer free for the past three years; for that he was very proud. Life dealt Junior another blow in 2022 and he suffered a stroke that caused a lot of speech issues but again, Junior being Junior overcame those challenges and came back stronger than ever. Unfortunately, within the past month Junior battled fluid retention in the legs and feet that made it very difficult to walk and it was a constant struggle. We did not know that the cancer was coming back with a vengeance, this time in the liver, which was causing all of the mobility issues and was the root cause of the fluid retention. Junior was diagnosed earlier this month and fought the good fight until he was too tired to continue. Junior passed peacefully and has went to his heavenly home to be with our loved ones that were waiting for him with open arms.
The family will receive friends at the Lohr & Barb Funeral Home of Elkins from 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday.
On Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, Mr. Wetzel will be moved to the Whitmer Methodist Church, where friends may call from noon to 1 p.m., the funeral hour. Pastor Steve Wymer will officiate and interment will follow at the Laurel Hill Cemetery at Whitmer, Wes Virginia.
The Lohr & Barb Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements for Forest George "Junior" Wetzel Jr.
Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.lohrbarbfuneralhome.com.