Kenneth Whaite

Ken Whaite passed away on Monday, December 22, 2025. He was born on May 18, 1937, in Hop Bottom, PA, to the late Kenneth L. Whaite and Eva C. Tripp.
He is survived by his devoted wife of 67 years, Evelyn; daughter Debbie A. Schuler; son Robert K. Whaite and daughter in law Deborah L. Whaite; sister Judy Madden; grandchildren Loribeth Dietrich, Kenny Schuler, and Stephen Whaite; and great grandchildren Katelyn Jamie Geiter, Landon E. Dietrich, Dale Dietrich Jr., Charlotte Schuler, Parker Schuler, and Patrick Whaite.
Ken and Evelyn were married on September 6, 1958, at Peace Lutheran Church in Scranton, PA. He graduated from Hop Bottom High School in 1955 and from Penn State University in 1959. Ken dedicated 32 years of service to Bethlehem Steel, working in Johnstown, PA, Lackawanna, NY, and Bethlehem, PA. In 1968, he was promoted to Chief of Cost at the Lackawanna Plant, where he managed cost operations for the fourth largest steel plant in the world.
During the 1980s, Ken and his team received an award for streamlining and computerizing a complex standard cost system. Upon his retirement in 1991, he held the position of Division Controller of Standard Cost and Analysis.
Beyond his professional career, Ken served twelve years as an elected auditor in Hanover Township, Northampton County, PA, and six years as treasurer and chairman of the Holy Cross Lutheran Church building fund finance committee. He also served on the finance committee of Saint Stephen's Lutheran Church, the YMCA board, and was an active member of the MORA Club for eight years.
Ken had a deep interest in genealogy and took great pride in tracing his family history through the Whaite, Tolley, Tripp, Tingley, and Powers families, spanning many generations.
A Funeral Service will be held at 11 A.M. on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, at the Cantelmi Long Funeral Home, 500 Linden Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018. Family and friends are invited to gather from 10 A.M. until the time of service. Burial will follow at Altona Cemetery, Bethlehem. A memory tribute may be placed at www.cantelmifuneralhome.com.