Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Donnie “Don” Hugh Worley passed away unexpectedly in Andalusia on Jan. 22, 2024.

He was born to Vera Ledlow Worley and Walter Lee Worley on March 17, 1946 in Covington County.

Growing up on his family’s farm in Sanford, he learned a love of land and timber, which he carried into adulthood. He attended Andalusia City Schools: East Three Notch School, Church Street School, Andalusia Junior High School, and Andalusia High School. A talented artist, he designed a Bulldog logo that was used at Andalusia High for many years. He graduated in 1964 from Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama. He received the honor of being one of the top mathematics students, a subject he excelled in and loved. He then attended Auburn University and studied engineering. While at Auburn, he pledged Pi Kappa Alpha. He enrolled in the helicopter program at Ozark, earning an Airframe and Powerplant license as a helicopter mechanic. He was a natural with machinery, and throughout his life, he had various businesses selling cars and trucks. He attended auctions nationwide, buying and shipping vehicles as a wholesaler. In addition, he maintained car lots in Sanford and Atlanta for many years. He worked for Bell Helicopter in Lafayette, Louisianna for a while. Later, he moved to Birmingham, where he became a top salesman for Sears. Leaving Birmingham, Sears transferred him to their Marietta location, where he was again a top appliance salesman. Spotted by an executive with The Travelers Insurance, he was convinced to leave Sears and go through The Travelers Insurance training program, eventually becoming one of the top producers in the Southeastern United States. When the economy struggled in the mid-1970s, he decided to take the opportunity to pursue his dream of studying literature and grammar. He left Atlanta, moved to Provo, Utah, and attended Brigham Young University. The pull of home and the South brought him back to Atlanta. While living in Atlanta in the early 1980s, he earned a pilot’s license and flew himself to automobile auctions around the country. Eventually, he moved back home to Andalusia. Here, he followed another dream to develop a unique subdivision, Amberwoods, off Hwy. 29 north of Andalusia. He wanted it to be a place that families could call home, not truly rural, but not town. He built the roads, the lake, and completed most of the development himself. Of all his achievements, he was most proud of his work building Lake Courtney in Amberwoods. Always up for a new challenge, he owned and managed a video store, Shows to Go, in River Falls. Later, his experience in machinery, insurance, and real estate development allowed him to become a government contractor. As a government contractor, he assisted with disaster zone clean-ups and secured extensive nationwide government contracts. He loved animals, especially German Shepherds, raising many faithful companions through the years. Above all else, he loved his children dearly and always was there to lend support and advice. God was always first and foremost in his life, and he spent many hours studying the Bible.

Don was predeceased by his parents and leaves behind his wife of 17 years, Nanchanok “Deamie” as well as his children, Daniel Travis Worley (Kadee) of Salt Lake City, Utah, Hollie Elisabeth Reed (Charles) of Birmingham, and Courtney Rebekah Nelson of Athens, Georgia; his grandchildren, James Campbell Nelson, Charles Ludlow Nelson, John Adams Reed, Thomas Edward Reed, and Pearl Ella Worley; his sister, Norma Worley King of Andalusia; two nephews, Anthony King (Zoe) and their children, Vera, Reese, and Mark, and Walter King; a niece, Marcie King (Brent) and her son, Jerrod James (Anna), and his children, Sebastian and Sullivan, and her daughter, Kaitlinne James; a cousin, Betsy Tucker (Nelson); and numerous other cousins.

Funeral services will be held Sunday, Jan. 28, 2 p.m., at Keahey Funeral Home Chapel. The family will receive friends at Keahey Funeral Home one hour prior to the services. Interment will follow in the Harmony Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will accept flowers or you may donate to your favorite charity.