Joseph E. “Gene” Whelan, age 93 of Flaherty, passed away on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at Baptist Health Hardin in Elizabethtown.
He was born on December 13, 1931 to the late Gus and Minnie Mattingly Whelan. He was preceded in death by his wife, Gladys Lawson Whelan; his son, David Whelan; and 10 brothers and sisters Juanita Shircliffe, Margaret Lancaster, Lillie Pike, Thelma Ray, Lucille Ray, Georgia Lee Hardesty, Dorothy Adkisson, Golan, Kenneth, and James Whelan.
He is survived by…
Six children: Perry Whelan, Lonnie Whelan, Joseph Whelan, Lisa Hobbs, Rhonda Thompson, and Elaine McKinney;
A host of grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, November 3, 2025, at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church. Burial, with military honors, will follow in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be held at Hager Funeral Home in Brandenburg from Noon until 4 p.m. on Sunday, and from 9 until 10:15 a.m. on Monday. A vigil service will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday in the chapel of the funeral home.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to the St. Martin Cemetery Fund.
Online condolences may be expressed here.