Wiley Porter Wooten

Wiley Porter Wooten’s life of service ended on December 8, 2018, after a courageous eight-year battle with cancer. Wiley, born in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 6, 1943, lived in Alamance County where he excelled in his profession as an attorney and lived an abundant life. He graduated from Wake Forest College in 1965 and Wake Forest University Law School in 1968. Wiley was a life-long Deacon who enjoyed nothing more than watching Wake win and then broadcasting it. After graduation, Wiley returned to Alamance County to serve as the Clerk of Court, first appointed and then elected. Elected as a Democrat, he continued his work in the party, serving as County Chairman. After leaving the Clerk’s office, Wiley began his law practice at the Vernon Law Firm where he continued for forty-six years as a principal of the firm.
Wiley was renowned as an outstanding Family Law Attorney throughout the State. He had a fierce courtroom demeanor and fought vigorously for his clients. Wiley excelled in improving the legal profession, believing it to be his duty to do so. To that end he served as a Chairman of the Family Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, a founding Member of the Dirty Thirty, and President and Treasurer of the Alamance County Bar. Wiley assisted the NC General Statutes Commission in rewriting the Equitable Distribution Statutes. One of his greatest gifts was training other attorneys by lecturing locally and across the country on family law topics. He created a system for presenting marital equitable distribution cases that is still used statewide.
Wiley did not limit his service to the Law. He served on the NC Fire Commission, the NC Property Tax Commission and the NC State Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators. Perhaps his greatest gift of service was his leadership in the Arts by bringing world-class cultural exhibits to Alamance County through the Alamance County Arts Council. As chair of The Louise and Carlyle Wooten Family Fund, Wiley provided Alamance County with unparalleled art exhibits including J. Seward Johnson’s Beyond the Frame and Celebrating the Familiar, Sawaya’s Art of the Brick and most recently Chihuly’s Venetians Glass from the George R. Stroemple Collection. These exhibitions drew people from around the world. Wiley got a twinkle in his eye whenever he talked about how special it was to bring these world-famous pieces of Art home. All of these talents and accomplishments were accompanied with a quick and wry sense of humor.
Wiley’s greatest adoration was reserved for his wife Hilda. The love and devotion they shared was remarkable. Hilda’s love was exemplified in her constant care throughout his illness. His daughter Ann was a constant support, especially during the last year.
He is survived by his wife Hilda Wooten, his sister, Frances Wooten McIntyre and his children, Paul Wooten (Tiffany), Ann Wooten, Porter Wooten Conway (Shawn), Hilda Navarro, Maria Navarro and Melissa Navarro, and his two precious granddaughters, Teagan and Piper. He was preceded in death by his parents, John Bethune Carlyle Wooten and Louise Porter Wooten, and his brother, John Carlyle Wooten.
The Family will receive friends at Rich & Thompson Funeral Home, Burlington, NC, on Sunday, December 16, from 2 to 5 p.m. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, December 17 at the First Presbyterian Church, 508 W. Davis Street, Burlington, NC.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be made to The Louise and Carlyle Wooten Family Fund, c/o Alamance Arts, 213 S. Main Street, Graham, NC 27253.

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