Wesley Albert Mclngva1e, 83, of Batesville, died Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi in Oxford, of congestive heart failure. The heart that comforted us all through trying times in our lives began its eternal rest today.

He was born on March 19, 1933, in Memphis, Tennessee to Herbert Albert McIngvale and Clara Thomas McIngvale.  Wesley attended Sacred Heart School and Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, Tennessee, before graduating from Hernando High School in 1951. His grandfather owned and operated a grocery store in Hernando for many years; and his father, a nationally-known antique clock collector and restorer, later had a clock museum and workshop in the old grocery store building. He completed three semesters at Northwest Mississippi Junior College, before volunteering for the Army in 1953, during the Korean Conflict.

Wesley married Letrice in September 1953, and upon his discharge from the Army in April, 1955, he came to Batesville permanently from Ft. Benning, Georgia, where he had been stationed for 18 months. He continued his service in the Mississippi National Guard, including the conflict surrounding the enrollment of James Meredith at Ole Miss in 1962.

In May 1955, he began work at Radio Station WBLE-AM in Batesville. He went to work at the Western Auto Store in 1965, and later oversaw the expansion of the store to include a Radio Shack franchise. He was a member of the Batesville Lions Club and the Batesville Junior Chamber of Commerce, serving as President of the Jaycees. He was chosen Outstanding Young Man of the Year in 1964. He served as President of the Batesville Chamber of Commerce in 1970-71.

In 1973, he was elected to the position of Alderman of Ward 1. Then, in 1975, he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, where he served until 1993. Throughout his career in local and state government, Wes was a champion of issues involving preventing child abuse, education, and of maintaining sound infrastructure in his district and statewide in support of economic development and job growth.

Since his retirement, he has taken great joy in helping his friends and neighbors solve their computer problems. A thoughtful public servant, he was greatly loved and respected, and will be sorely missed, by all with whom he came in contact in business and in community service.

Wes was known for growing beautiful roses and tomatoes. He loved God and cherished his wife, son, and granddaughter, and daughter-in-law. He loved all things computer-related, watching South Panola football, and bream fishing in his one-man boat with his custom-made fly rod.

He is survived by one married son, and his hunting and fishing partner, James Wesley McIngvale (Nancy), of Pascagoula, and one granddaughter, Elizabeth Brooke McIngvale, of Arlington, Virginia, as well as by his sister, Ginger “Sister” Gartrell (AL) of Walls, and many nieces and nephews. He also leaves behind his loving second wife, Lynne Masters McIngvale.

He is preceded in death by his wife of more than 60 years, Letrice Virginia Aston McIngvale, by his parents, Herbert Albert McIngvale and Clara Thomas McIngvale, by his step-mother, Virginia Crawford McIngvale, by his brother, George Sidney McIngvale, and by two sisters, Patricia Bishop Benson and Judith Ann Bishop.

Funeral services will be held 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, at First United Methodist Church in Batesville, with interment following at Magnolia Cemetery. Visitation will be from 9:30-11 a.m. at the church.

Memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church, PO Box 797, Batesville, MS 38606 or St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 112 S. 9th St., Oxford, MS  38665.

Dickins Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.