Virgil Lee 'Bud' Whorton, Jr.

Virgil Lee “Bud” Whorton, Jr. 85, of Noblesville, formerly of Indianapolis, passed away on Monday, September 13, 2021.  He was born on April 18, 1936 in Haywood County, TN to the late Virgil Lee Whorton, Sr. and Ruby (Chapman) Whorton.

Bud moved to Indiana about 1954 with his family. He worked various jobs from working at gas stations to working in the farm fields picking vegetables and selling goods at the Indianapolis farmer’s market.  Bud was inducted into the U.S. Army in January of 1959 and served most of his career in Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. While he was in the service, he attained his GED and was Honorably discharged in December of 1964. After Bud came home, he started working at Russell’s Bait & Tackle, a job he loved. He had to leave that job to work at International Harvester in 1970 and he worked there until his retirement in April 1998.  While there he met many friends.  Bud became a Mason at Lodge #669 F&AM on May 1976. Shortly before he retired, he married his longtime love, Margie. He worked for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1992 to 2016 as an observer. Bud enjoyed watching racing (auto and horse) and watching food network. He really loved cooking and trying new recipes.

Bud was a fun-loving guy who enjoyed working at the Indianapolis 500 track, a good day of fishing, riding his dirt bike in the Jack Pine Cowbell Classic in Lansing, Michigan and riding the waves on his pontoon boat at Lake Monroe. When he wasn’t placing bets on the horses, he was having good conversations with his many lifelong friends and spending time at a dirt track watching sprint and midget car racing. Bud looked forward to his bi-monthly poker games with his Navistar buddies. Bud also had a more serious side, serving on the Board of Directors at Harvester Financial Credit Union for 45 years. Bud had no biological children of his own but was like a dad to Greg, Traci and Leanne.

Bud is survived by his niece and nephew, Gregory Crabtree and Traci Crandall (Anthony); stepdaughter, Leanne LaFollette (William); granddaughter, Adrienne Merrick (Travis); nephews, Vernon Faulkner Jr., Tommy Faulkner and Jeff (Kristina) Faulkner. Bud also leaves behind many cousins.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Margie; sisters, Wanda Crabtree and Dian Faulkner; and great -nephew, Joshua Bullock.

A memorial gathering will be held on Friday, September 24, 2021 from 12-2pm at Flanner Buchanan – Washington Park East, with a memorial service immediately following.  Bud will be laid to rest in Washington Park East Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are encouraged to the American Diabetes Association.