Junior Whitehead

Junior Austin Whitehead
BOISE - Junior Austin Whitehead passed away on March 11, 2007, in Boise.
Junior was born on July 16, 1924, in Grace, Idaho, to James Austin and Rachael Allen Whitehead. He graduated from Grace High School and attended Welding School in Utah.
He worked in the shipyards in California, but eventually returned to Grace to run the family farm. Junior joined the Army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and served in World War II in the liberation of the Philippines and the occupation of Japan.
When he returned from the war he met Ramona Edwards, and they began their 59-year marriage.
Junior was a craftsman by trade. He worked as a welder and fabricator of transportation equipment for years. He was one of the founders of Cornia and Whitehead Co. in Boise, engaged in the manufacture of truck bodies, which is now Western Trailer Co. He later worked with the disabled as a therapist at the Idaho State School and Hospital, from which he retired.
Ramona and Junior enjoyed driving in the Idaho mountains with their children and taking them target shooting. Later, he loved taking walks with his grandchildren. He was a storyteller with a great sense of humor.
Junior was a generous man who was well loved and will be greatly missed.
He was preceded in death by two sons, Ronald and Edward. He is survived by his wife, Ramona; sons, Jerry (wife Shannon), Bud, and Robert (wife Sandy); grandchildren, Clint, Craig, Kelly, Tina, Arnie, Christy, John, Michael, Abby, Jesse; and great-grandchildren, Alyssa, Brayden, Elijaah, Giavani, Joshua, Katie Jo, Matthew, Sophia and Taylor.
Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 16, 2007, at the Morris Hill Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Relyea Funeral Chapel, Boise.