Thomas Cullyford Watling, an esteemed educator and beloved member of the community, passed away peacefully at his home in Turlock after battling Merkel-cell carcinoma.
He grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, and graduated from high school in 1943. After serving as a B-29 flight engineer in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, he pursued higher education at Drury College, earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1949.