More detail on this person: LCDR Rodney N.
"Rod" Whalen USN (Ret.), of Tyler went to be with
the Lord he loved on February 23, 2016. He was 81.
He was born on July 11, 1934 near the jungles of
EI Centro, Columbia, SA and grew up in the
northwest coastal desert of Negritos, Peru, SA. He
was preceded in death by his parents, Tony and
Ruth Mayfield Whalen of Magnolia, AR and by his
late wife and mother of their children, Mary Jo
Connor Whalen of Southington, CT.
He is survived by his wife Evelyn Baillio Lucero
Whalen of Tyler: a son Stephen, his wife Carla,
and their children Connor, Gregory, and Jane of
Baton Rouge, LA; a daughter Mary Beth Petrakian
and her children Anthony and Brett of Tyler; a
daughter Jenny Merrill, her husband Chad, and
their children Whalen and Drew of Birmingham, AL;
Evelyn's children Joe and Patti Grace and daughter
Samantha; Tab and Angela Werner and son Adam;
Tony and Karen Lucero and their daughters Megan
and Madelyn; sisters Nelda Fuller of Bald Knob, AR
and Virginia Fager of Ben Wheeler; and several
nieces and nephews.
He was a graduate of Magnolia (AR) High School
where he was an honor graduate, a member of the
National Honor Society, All-District and All-State
football, and District and State tennis champion.
He attended Southern State College (now Southern
Arkansas University) where he was twice Arkansas
Intercollegiate Conference singles and doubles
tennis champion and represented the Southern
District in the NAIA National Tennis
Championships. In 2007, he was selected a
Distinguished Alumni by Southern Arkansas
University.
He graduated from LSU where he was a member of
Sigma Chi Fraternity and was elected Outstanding
Athlete; was a graduate of the U.S. Naval
Postgraduate School; and received his Masters
Degree from Empire State College, State University
of New York, where he was named to Who's Who
Among Students in American Universities and
Colleges.
During, his Navy career, Mr. Whalen set the world
altitude record in the H-25 type helicopter, was
flag pilot aboard the cruiser USS Canberra and
flew the line during the Cuban Quarantine; and was
Helicopter pilot and Fire Team Leader flying Navy
helicopter gunships in the Mekong Delta of South
Vietnam and Cambodia. He earned the following
military awards: Bronze Star with combat V, four
Air Medals, two Navy Commendation Medals,
Presidential Unit Citation, Meritorious Unit
Citation, two National Defense Service Medals,
Armed Forces Expedition Medal, Vietnam Service
Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Cross of
Gallantry, Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation, and
the Vietnam Community Service Medal. For
rescues, he was awarded the Sikorsky Aircraft
Winged "S": and the Kaman Aircraft Flying "K."
After his Navy career, he was manager and head
tennis professional of the Saratoga (Springs, NY)
Racquet Club; was certified tennis teaching
professional by the U.S. Professional Tennis
Association and the U.S. Professional Tennis
Registry; was men's tennis coach at Skidmore
College, Saratoga Springs, NY where he three
times led his teams to the NAIA National Tennis
Championship Tournament, and was three times
named Coach of the Year by the Northeast District
of NAIA and was so named once each by the
Mayflower Conference and by the Eastern Division
of USPT A.
Mr. Whalen earned a CSP (Certified Safety
Professional), was an Industrial Hygienist,
Director of Occupational Safety and Health for
United University Professions, Albany, NY and was
an adjunct instructor for Cornell University and a
lecturer for the American Institute of Medical
law.
After retiring, he volunteered his time to coach
the boys and girls tennis teams three years each
at Crestview (FL) High and Walton High School,
DeFuniak Springs, FL.
A memorial service will be held at 10:30am,
Saturday, February 27, 2016 at Lloyd James
Funeral Home in Tyler. His ashes will be in repose
at Barrancas National Cemetery, Naval Air Station,
Pensacola, FL.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to
Colonial Hills Baptist Church, 7330 South
Broadway, Tyler, TX. 75703 or Watkins-Logan
Veterans Home, 11466 Honor Ln., Tyler, TX. 75708.
Burial information: Barrancas National Cemetery, Pensacola, FL
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 10/13/2025
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