ALBEMARLE COUNTY - William Oscar Whitaker, Jr., 98, of Albemarle County, Va., died on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010, at the Hospice House in Charlottesville, Va.
He was born in Memphis, Tenn., in 1912, the son of William O. Whitaker Sr. and Alice Clare Ellis Whitaker.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents; by his first wife, Edrika Stenstrom Whitaker; and by his five siblings, Clare Suddoth, Ruth Ramsay Shirley, Gladys Hall Duval, Philip Whitaker, and Ellis Whitaker.
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Jean Sohanski Whitaker; daughters, Selma Whitaker of Broadway, Va., Gretchen Blakey and her husband, Churchill Blakey of Broadway, Va., and Mary Blalock and her husband, Travis Blalock of Albemarle County, Va.; grandchildren, James Blakey, Clare Lumley, Davis Blalock, and Shelby Blalock; great-granddaughters, Robin Lumley and Elizabeth Lumley; his sister-in-law, Irene Whitaker; and numerous nieces, nephews, and their families.
Bill had a brilliant mind and an adventurous spirit, evident from his youth. As a teenager, he built his own sailboats and pieced together a Model T Ford, which he painted his high school colors. After graduating from Plant High in Tampa, Fla., he attended the University of Florida, until illness and the Depression intervened. Undeterred, Bill found work on a surveying crew and mapped the swamps of Florida. He studied drafting, and worked his way up through the ranks of shipyards in Florida and Mississippi, eventually becoming an executive at New York Shipbuilding in New Jersey and at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. He was proud to have built at least one of every type of naval vessel afloat, including the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk and the N.S. Savannah, now designated a National Historic Landmark in Baltimore Harbor.
Bill loved the water and spent many happy hours on the James River and the Chesapeake Bay, sailing his sloop, the Jeanne II, and his ketch, the Jeannie III. He spent a year sailing the Jeannie III in the Bahamas, along both coasts of Florida, and up the Inter-Coastal Waterway from Florida to New England. Many family members and friends joined him on this grand adventure of a lifetime. His hobbies included golf, open wheel auto racing, and restoring classic cars. He was a keen tennis player, who did not hang up his racket until his mid-eighties. He loved woodworking, furniture building, and studying history. He spent many hours researching his genealogy and sharing his findings with the family. For many years, he was an active member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Newport News and later Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Va. Bill was a gentleman and a patriot; but above all, he was a devoted husband, father and friend, who will be deeply missed.
The family would like to thank the nurses at UVA Medical Center - Three Central, Dr. John Bell, and Dr. Srikant Nannapaneni, for their compassionate care.
The family will receive friends from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, at the Blalock home, 3085 Beau Mont Farm Road, Charlottesville. A graveside service and interment of ashes will be at Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Va., at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank or to the Hospice of the Piedmont. View and post condolences on our online guestbook at dailypress.com/guestbooks.
Published in Daily Press from January 2 to January 3, 2011
He was born in Memphis, Tenn., in 1912, the son of William O. Whitaker Sr. and Alice Clare Ellis Whitaker.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents; by his first wife, Edrika Stenstrom Whitaker; and by his five siblings, Clare Suddoth, Ruth Ramsay Shirley, Gladys Hall Duval, Philip Whitaker, and Ellis Whitaker.
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Jean Sohanski Whitaker; daughters, Selma Whitaker of Broadway, Va., Gretchen Blakey and her husband, Churchill Blakey of Broadway, Va., and Mary Blalock and her husband, Travis Blalock of Albemarle County, Va.; grandchildren, James Blakey, Clare Lumley, Davis Blalock, and Shelby Blalock; great-granddaughters, Robin Lumley and Elizabeth Lumley; his sister-in-law, Irene Whitaker; and numerous nieces, nephews, and their families.
Bill had a brilliant mind and an adventurous spirit, evident from his youth. As a teenager, he built his own sailboats and pieced together a Model T Ford, which he painted his high school colors. After graduating from Plant High in Tampa, Fla., he attended the University of Florida, until illness and the Depression intervened. Undeterred, Bill found work on a surveying crew and mapped the swamps of Florida. He studied drafting, and worked his way up through the ranks of shipyards in Florida and Mississippi, eventually becoming an executive at New York Shipbuilding in New Jersey and at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. He was proud to have built at least one of every type of naval vessel afloat, including the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk and the N.S. Savannah, now designated a National Historic Landmark in Baltimore Harbor.
Bill loved the water and spent many happy hours on the James River and the Chesapeake Bay, sailing his sloop, the Jeanne II, and his ketch, the Jeannie III. He spent a year sailing the Jeannie III in the Bahamas, along both coasts of Florida, and up the Inter-Coastal Waterway from Florida to New England. Many family members and friends joined him on this grand adventure of a lifetime. His hobbies included golf, open wheel auto racing, and restoring classic cars. He was a keen tennis player, who did not hang up his racket until his mid-eighties. He loved woodworking, furniture building, and studying history. He spent many hours researching his genealogy and sharing his findings with the family. For many years, he was an active member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Newport News and later Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Va. Bill was a gentleman and a patriot; but above all, he was a devoted husband, father and friend, who will be deeply missed.
The family would like to thank the nurses at UVA Medical Center - Three Central, Dr. John Bell, and Dr. Srikant Nannapaneni, for their compassionate care.
The family will receive friends from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, at the Blalock home, 3085 Beau Mont Farm Road, Charlottesville. A graveside service and interment of ashes will be at Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Va., at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank or to the Hospice of the Piedmont. View and post condolences on our online guestbook at dailypress.com/guestbooks.
Published in Daily Press from January 2 to January 3, 2011
ALBEMARLE COUNTY - William Oscar Whitaker, Jr., 98, of Albemarle County, Va., died on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010, at the Hospice House in Charlottesville, Va.
He was born in Memphis, Tenn., in 1912, the son of William O. Whitaker Sr. and Alice Clare Ellis Whitaker.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents; by his first wife, Edrika Stenstrom Whitaker; and by his five siblings, Clare Suddoth, Ruth Ramsay Shirley, Gladys Hall Duval, Philip Whitaker, and Ellis Whitaker.
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Jean Sohanski Whitaker; daughters, Selma Whitaker of Broadway, Va., Gretchen Blakey and her husband, Churchill Blakey of Broadway, Va., and Mary Blalock and her husband, Travis Blalock of Albemarle County, Va.; grandchildren, James Blakey, Clare Lumley, Davis Blalock, and Shelby Blalock; great-granddaughters, Robin Lumley and Elizabeth Lumley; his sister-in-law, Irene Whitaker; and numerous nieces, nephews, and their families.
Bill had a brilliant mind and an adventurous spirit, evident from his youth. As a teenager, he built his own sailboats and pieced together a Model T Ford, which he painted his high school colors. After graduating from Plant High in Tampa, Fla., he attended the University of Florida, until illness and the Depression intervened. Undeterred, Bill found work on a surveying crew and mapped the swamps of Florida. He studied drafting, and worked his way up through the ranks of shipyards in Florida and Mississippi, eventually becoming an executive at New York Shipbuilding in New Jersey and at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. He was proud to have built at least one of every type of naval vessel afloat, including the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk and the N.S. Savannah, now designated a National Historic Landmark in Baltimore Harbor.
Bill loved the water and spent many happy hours on the James River and the Chesapeake Bay, sailing his sloop, the Jeanne II, and his ketch, the Jeannie III. He spent a year sailing the Jeannie III in the Bahamas, along both coasts of Florida, and up the Inter-Coastal Waterway from Florida to New England. Many family members and friends joined him on this grand adventure of a lifetime. His hobbies included golf, open wheel auto racing, and restoring classic cars. He was a keen tennis player, who did not hang up his racket until his mid-eighties. He loved woodworking, furniture building, and studying history. He spent many hours researching his genealogy and sharing his findings with the family. For many years, he was an active member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Newport News and later Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Va. Bill was a gentleman and a patriot; but above all, he was a devoted husband, father and friend, who will be deeply missed.
The family would like to thank the nurses at UVA Medical Center - Three Central, Dr. John Bell, and Dr. Srikant Nannapaneni, for their compassionate care.
The family will receive friends from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, at the Blalock home, 3085 Beau Mont Farm Road, Charlottesville. A graveside service and interment of ashes will be at Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Va., at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank or to the Hospice of the Piedmont. View and post condolences on our online guestbook at dailypress.com/guestbooks.
Published in Daily Press from January 2 to January 3, 2011
He was born in Memphis, Tenn., in 1912, the son of William O. Whitaker Sr. and Alice Clare Ellis Whitaker.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents; by his first wife, Edrika Stenstrom Whitaker; and by his five siblings, Clare Suddoth, Ruth Ramsay Shirley, Gladys Hall Duval, Philip Whitaker, and Ellis Whitaker.
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Jean Sohanski Whitaker; daughters, Selma Whitaker of Broadway, Va., Gretchen Blakey and her husband, Churchill Blakey of Broadway, Va., and Mary Blalock and her husband, Travis Blalock of Albemarle County, Va.; grandchildren, James Blakey, Clare Lumley, Davis Blalock, and Shelby Blalock; great-granddaughters, Robin Lumley and Elizabeth Lumley; his sister-in-law, Irene Whitaker; and numerous nieces, nephews, and their families.
Bill had a brilliant mind and an adventurous spirit, evident from his youth. As a teenager, he built his own sailboats and pieced together a Model T Ford, which he painted his high school colors. After graduating from Plant High in Tampa, Fla., he attended the University of Florida, until illness and the Depression intervened. Undeterred, Bill found work on a surveying crew and mapped the swamps of Florida. He studied drafting, and worked his way up through the ranks of shipyards in Florida and Mississippi, eventually becoming an executive at New York Shipbuilding in New Jersey and at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. He was proud to have built at least one of every type of naval vessel afloat, including the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk and the N.S. Savannah, now designated a National Historic Landmark in Baltimore Harbor.
Bill loved the water and spent many happy hours on the James River and the Chesapeake Bay, sailing his sloop, the Jeanne II, and his ketch, the Jeannie III. He spent a year sailing the Jeannie III in the Bahamas, along both coasts of Florida, and up the Inter-Coastal Waterway from Florida to New England. Many family members and friends joined him on this grand adventure of a lifetime. His hobbies included golf, open wheel auto racing, and restoring classic cars. He was a keen tennis player, who did not hang up his racket until his mid-eighties. He loved woodworking, furniture building, and studying history. He spent many hours researching his genealogy and sharing his findings with the family. For many years, he was an active member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Newport News and later Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Va. Bill was a gentleman and a patriot; but above all, he was a devoted husband, father and friend, who will be deeply missed.
The family would like to thank the nurses at UVA Medical Center - Three Central, Dr. John Bell, and Dr. Srikant Nannapaneni, for their compassionate care.
The family will receive friends from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, at the Blalock home, 3085 Beau Mont Farm Road, Charlottesville. A graveside service and interment of ashes will be at Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Va., at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank or to the Hospice of the Piedmont. View and post condolences on our online guestbook at dailypress.com/guestbooks.
Published in Daily Press from January 2 to January 3, 2011
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