Wallner Jr., Siegfried

Siegfried (Jon) Wallner Jr., 86, of Hickory, N.C., and formerly of Pulaski, Va., died on Sunday, January 10, 2010, at Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory. He was born on July 27, 1923, in Pulaski, Va., and was the son of the late Siegfried and Marcia Delores (Jarratt) Wallner. He grew up in Jacksonville, Texas, where he was a Boy Scout and earned his Eagle Scout Badge.
He graduated from North Carolina State University in 1949, where he was known as “Tex,” with a B.A. degree in textiles. On June 27, 1950, he married Stella Dalton Wallner at Christ Episcopal Church in Pulaski, Va. Jon had an extensive career in the hosiery industry, Glen Raven Knitting Mills in Glen Raven, N.C.; Virginia Maid Hosiery Mills in Pulaski, Va.; and Davenport Hosiery Mills in Chattanooga, Tenn.
He was president of Magnet Mills in Clinton, Tenn., where he was a lay leader in St. Albans’s Episcopal Church, chairman of the board and president of the Anderson County Community Chest and president of the Clinton Civitan Club. From Clinton he went to Indian Head Hosiery Mills in Paducah, Ky.; Kayser Roth in Burlington, N.C., and finished the last 17 years of his career with Adams-Millis Corporation in High Point, N.C. He spent his retirement years in High Point, N.C., Winston-Salem, N.C., Statesville, N.C., and Hickory, N.C.
He is survived by one son, Jon Thomas Wallner and his wife, Kate, of Greensboro, N.C.; and two daughters, Marcia Dee Pencola and her husband, Michael, of Hickory, and Celeste Sabel, of Montgomery, Ala. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Marcia Helene Sabel, Samuel Sabel and his wife, Heather, Joshua Pencola, Chelsea Dee Pencola Gelardi, Carley Sarah Pencola, Katherine Adams Wallner and Elizabeth Dalton Wallner; great-grandson, Sebastian Judah Sabel-Sowers; and great-granddaughter, Sophia Grace Gelardi. Also surviving Jon is his beloved Maltese companion, Sophie Mae.
John, along with his wife of 57 years, Stella, developed several long-term friendships in the many places they lived. His lifetime passion was golf, watching and attending North Carolina State football and basketball games, working on projects around the house, and visiting the mountains and beaches.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Stella Dalton Wallner; parents, Siegfried and Marcia Delores (Jarratt) Wallner; and brother, Jack Devereaux Wallner.
Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. on Thursday, January 14, 2010, at Seagle Funeral Home with the Rev. Michael Moulden officiating. Interment will follow in Oakwood Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Thursday from 1 until 2 p.m. funeral time at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090-6011, www.alz.org/join_the_cause_donate.asp. Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.seaglefuneralhome.com. Arrangements by Seagle Funeral Home, Pulaski, Va.