Winslow Gary Whiteley

1939 - 2023

Winslow Gary Whiteley

Feb. 7, 1939 - Oct. 14, 2023

OAKLEY - Winslow Gary Whiteley, 84, passed away peacefully on October 14, 2023. Gary was born in Oakley, ID on February 7, 1939, the second of six children born to Winslow Beck and Dorothy LaMare Whiteley.

He was raised in Oakley, where he graduated from Oakley High School with the Class of 1957.

He was a lifelong active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including service as a full-time missionary in northern California.

Gary was sealed to Eileene Connolly on June 7, 1962, in the Salt Lake City Temple. He and Eileene lived in Oakley for their entire married lives, where they raised their children and had a great influence on the lives of their grandchildren. Their marriage was rooted deeply in service, love, and devotion to each other and in living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He made his living through farming, and he was appointed by the Governor of Idaho to two consecutive three-year terms on the National Potato Board, where he and Eileene rubbed shoulders with potato farmers around the country who became their lifelong friends.

Gary's church service included callings as an Elders Quorum President, Young Men's President, ward and stake clerk, and Bishop. He served for a combined 17 years as a counselor in the Stake Presidency and as the Stake President in the Oakley Idaho Stake. His church service brought him great joy as he built lifelong relationships with the men, women, youth, and children he served. He led with love, expecting much without raising his voice or demanding more than he gave himself.

After retiring from full-time farming, he spent countless hours in his wood shop, and the pens he crafted were sent literally all over the world with full-time missionaries he set apart.

Gary's goodness and discipleship was manifest by the way he lived and loved people. He was respected by people in all walks of life, and he was comfortable among both the prominent and the humble. He could preach to a congregation of hundreds on the same day he connected with the one out his rolled-down pickup window.

In his twilight years, when asked about what he would like to pass on to his posterity, he responded, "It's all about family," a four-word sermon he lived for 84 years. Holidays, Sunday gatherings, or no special reason at all found him at home with Eileene, surrounded by their children and grandchildren, full of laughter and warmth.

Rather than making those around him feel like we had to impress him, he really inspired us to want to be our best. He led by example and could respond to virtually any situation with wit and laughter. His sense of humor brought joy to everyday living.

He was preceded in death by Eileene, his parents, and three siblings, Gloria (Aaron) Johnson, Kent (Jessie) Whiteley, and Robert (Debra) Whiteley. He is survived by his sisters, Karen (Bill) Giauque and Robyn (Mike) Fehlman, his two children, Jill (Tom) Nilsen and Scott (Christina) Whiteley, his seven grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.

Viewing will be held on Thursday, October 19, 2023 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Oakley Stake Center at 355 North Center Street. A viewing will also be held at the same location prior to the funeral from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. with the funeral service on October 20, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be held following the service at the Oakley Cemetery

A webcast of the funeral will be available and maintained at morrisonfuneralhome.net.

Arrangements are under the direction of Morrison Funeral Home, 188 South Hwy 24 in Rupert.