William Richard McHale

Published 12:02 am Monday, November 26, 2012

HARRISONBURG — Services for William Richard McHale, 60, of Wallace Ridge, La., who died Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at Grace Home in CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria after a courageous yearlong battle with cancer, will be at noon Tuesday at First Baptist Church in Harrisonburg with the Revs. Howard Hudson and Cory Bruce officiating.

Visitation will be from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. today at the church.

Mr. McHale was born Sept. 24, 1952, in the Bainbridge, Maine, the son of U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Robert V. McHale and Geraldine Trichel McHale.

Mr. McHale, his brother, Bobby, and sisters, Betty and Anne, lost their father in 1953 during the Korean conflict and their mother in 1962. At that time, they became part of the family of their maternal aunt Audrey Trichel Gibson, uncle Elmer “Pat” Gibson and sons, Joe Pat and Steve of Harrisonburg.

Mr. McHale’s life was a 60-year adventure, and he fully enjoyed every step of the journey. Part of that journey was a 35-year career with Baroid-Halliburton in the oil and gas industry. Mr McHale worked on oil exploration rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world, making lifelong friends along the way.

Mr. McHale was a beloved part of a very large and extended family and had a wide circle of friends, all of whom dearly appreciated his wonderful sense of humor, legendary storytelling and kind heart. Mr. McHale was an active member and supporter of Harrisonburg Methodist Church and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Survivors include his wife of 22 years, Joan Routon McHale; brother Robert V. McHale Jr. and wife, Mary, of The Woodlands, Texas, and their children Andy, Gemma and Will; Betty McHale Gaither and husband, Conard, of Wallace Ridge, and their children Jarrod and Amanda; Anne McHale Hooper and husband, Jim, of Gulf Breeze, Fla., and their children Jason, Sarah and Jay; and cousins Joe Pat Gibson of Pensacola Beach, Fla., and Steve Gibson of Harrisonburg.

Pallbearers will be Dr. William C. Coney, Henry A. Taliaferro Jr., Tommy Barton, Tony Broussard, Paul James Felker, Rox Routon, Steve Watters and Cleve Womack.

Honorary pallbearers will be James Aplin, Roger Dobbs, Craig Edwards, Mickey McKinion, Richard Price and Ralph Reeves.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Harrisonburg Methodist Church or the Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home.