Gus Wadlington's Obituary
Irby Augustus “Gus” Wadlington was born September 26, 1926 in Memphis, TN to Irby Sr. and Celeste B. Wadlington. He died peacefully on September 14, 2021, twelve days shy of his 95th birthday. A proud Memphian, he attended public schools and graduated from Central High in 1943. At 17, he volunteered for the Army Air Corp. and was honorably discharged two years later.
After military service, he enrolled at Georgia Tech, graduating with an architectural degree in 1948. Returning to Memphis, he married his childhood sweetheart, Mildred Emily Connor, and was apprenticed to the Faires architectural group for three years. In 1951, upon obtaining his national architectural license, he and O. T. Marshall founded Wadlington & Marshall, which was one of the largest architectural firms in Memphis until it was dissolved in 1974. From there, Gus and Mildred moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he headed up the planning and service operations for Picker International, retiring home in 1988.
After Mildred’s death in 1992, Gus married the second love of his life Ruby Kay Austin, expanding his family footprint from four children to seven and grandchildren from eight to thirteen. Great grandchildren swelled the ranks by an additional fourteen, with the fifteenth on the way.
Gus will be greatly missed by this large crowd and by his extended family at St. George’s Episcopal church, where he served on the vestry for 10 years, including terms as senior warden. Bringing together his love of architecture and his church, he was instrumental as a consultant to the design and construction of the new church campus, which was dedicated in 2007. Together with church friends, he formed the ROMEOs (Retired Old Men Eating Out), a group of talented friends who helped around the campus with carpentry, repairs and other needs. Gus and his close friend, Ken Wied, could often be found on Tuesday mornings at church after breakfast – checking in to see how their skills were needed.
Left to cherish Gus’ memory are his daughter and sons, Connie Douglass, Jim Wadlington, David Wadlington and Bruce Wadlington, and all of their families; and Kay’s daughters and son, Susan Ricci, Kathy Murchison, and Steve Bargiacchi, and all of their families.
A celebration of life service will be held at St. George’s on Saturday September 25th at 2pm (COVID protocols in place) followed by an inurnment in the church’s columbarium.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to St. George’s Episcopal Church, 2425 Germantown Rd, Germantown TN.
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