Harold “Whit” Whitmore, age 84, was called home to be with his Lord & Savior Jesus Christ on Aug. 18, 2010. A resident of Springfield, Mo, he lived the past month with son Greg and Kristi Whitmore of the Avilla area.
Whit was born to Clarence & Florence Whitmore on Jan. 19, 1926, in Cato, N.Y., the eldest son of a total of 12 children. In February 1944, Whit enlisted in the Army Air Corp. In 1945, while stationed in Salina, Kan., he met and married his wife Helen. After Whit’s honorable discharge from the military in January 1946, the couple moved to Wichita, Kan., where their children Greg and Tami were born.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Whit was in the trucking business in the Wichita, Kan., area hauling milk from farm to market. In 1969, Whit sold his trucking company and moved his family to Siloam Springs, Ark., so Helen could be near her ailing mother. Shortly after moving to Arkansas, Whit began trucking again in Mountain Grove, Mo., then later in Springfield, Mo., with his son Greg under the banner of Milkway Transport Company.
Whit valiantly cared for his wife Helen through the years that she was afflicted with Alzheimer’s until her death in December 2006. He also bravely faced his own failing health and never gave up the fight until the Lord graciously rescued him from his failing body and ushered him into His presence in heaven.
Whit is preceded in death by his parents, his wife of 62 years, Helen, and four of his seven sisters. Whit is survived by his son Greg and wife Kristi, daughter Tami Dillon and husband Matt; five grandchildren: Sarah Miller and husband Bub, Joe Whitmore and wife Caroline, Saloam, Abby and Ben Whitmore; seven great-grandchildren: Hannah, Seth, Shem and Hope Miller, Toby, Chloe and Ruthie Whitmore; four brothers: Fred, Charlie, Vince and Gene; and three sisters: Eva, Violet and Lynda.
Whit loved his Lord Jesus Christ, his family, trucking, farming/ranching, his Clydesdales, his little dog buddy and eating at Ziggie’s everyday for lunch. Visitation will be from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010, at Greenlawn East, Springfield, Mo., and funeral service will be at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 23, 2010, at Greenlawn with burial at the National Cemetery, Springfield.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Harvest Community Church, Avilla, Mo.
