Marion Stites Waller
May 16, 1913 – May 13, 2011

Marion Stites Waller entered the world on May 16, 1913, in Trenton, Kentucky. He was the second of four children born to Ashton Stites Waller and Nellie Carr Waller.

Following the early deaths of his parents and the loss of the family’s farm in the depression, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was stationed in Hawaii, and his tour of duty was almost up when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Having survived that, he spent the entire war in the Pacific Theater.

After the war, he was selected to be one of the instructors at the newly-formed naval academy in Venezuela. He had to learn Spanish because all of the instruction had to be done in the native tongue.

Stites ended his Navy career after 20 years of service and transferred to Civil Service, serving as a Program Analyst for missile systems at Redstone Arsenal, where he was consistently recognized for superior performance.

He was a 32nd-Degree Mason and a member of Helion Lodge #1 in Huntsville. He was also a charter member of Cahaba Shrine, and was well suited to his role in the Ambassador Unit due to his outgoing personality. Stites was a Past Grand Patron of the Order of the Eastern Star, State of Alabama, and was honored as Grand Trustee Emeritus for his many years of devoted service.

Stites Waller served First Presbyterian Church in the roles of deacon and elder, and he seldom missed attending the Sunday School Class he loved so well.

He is survived by his wife of 11 years, Alsie Yarbrough Waller, and his daughter Elaine (Richard) Hamner; three grandchildren: Eric Baath, Elizabeth (Carl) LaMonica, and Jesse (Bethany) Hamner; and four great-grandchildren: Daniel and Gabriel LaMonica, and Hadley and Stites Hamner. Stites Waller was preceded in death by Myrtis Maddox Waller, his wife of 53 years, and by their eldest daughter, Ann Strickland.

His family joins with all of his friends in celebrating his life. We are grateful to God that we knew him.