Bert Lloyd Wiley, 88, of Hayesville died Friday, February 19, 2016 at the Clay County Care Center. The Rev. Bert Wiley was born in Busti, New York and lived in New Hampshire, California, and Georgia before moving to Cullowhee, North Carolina in 1967 and then to Clay County in 2005.

He joined the United States Army and served in the Signal Corp. After his service in the Army, Bert attended San Jose State College where he graduated with a Master’s Degree and became a professor of music at Western Carolina University in 1967. He retired in 1990. He then managed a British Brass Band, the Smokey Mountain British Brass Band and grew a business called Bernel Music, buying and selling British Brass Band music from all over the world.

Bert then went back to school and became a Presbyterian minister serving for seven years in Hayesville. He was very active for a number of years with the Clay County Food Pantry.

Bert was a man of many talents and interests including music, photography, gardening, writing, and reading. He had a special love for roses, but the core of his life was his love for Jesus.

He was the son of the late Joseph and Persis Brown Wiley and the husband of the late Nellie Malcolm Wiley.

Surviving are his wife, Ellen Burnette Bird Wiley. They had 16 years together and their love and caring was very deep. Also surviving are three children, Lloyd Wiley, Diane Littlefield, and Gayle Dukelow, all of New Hampshire; and seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

His children will have a special memorial service for him in New Hampshire on May 21, 2016, where Bert has many relatives and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made in memory of Bert Lloyd Wiley to the Clay County Food Pantry, PO Box 853, Hayesville, NC 28904.