Mae Whitman

MONMOUTH - Mae L. Whitman, 84, of Courtyard Estates in Monmouth, died there on Thursday, May 3, 2007.

Mrs. Whitman was born May 17, 1922, in rural Farmington, Ill., the daughter of Walter and Rose Ingold Ryer. Raised on a farm near Farmington, Mae graduated in 1940 from Farmington High School. On Aug. 19, 1940, in St. Louis, Mo., she married Russell L. Whitman of Canton, Ill.

While Russell served in the Army in Pacific Theater during World War II, Mrs. Whitman was employed as a telephone operator by Illinois Bell Telephone Company.

The Whitmans had two children, a son, Richard L. Whitman, and a daughter, Marilyn Mae Whitman.

From 1947 until 1998, Mrs. Whitman was a homemaker, living in Canton, Ill., where her husband Russell, through the years, managed three different auto parts stores until his retirement in 1994.

After wintering in San Antonio, Texas, for several years, the Whitmans moved to San Antonio in 1998. After 59 years of marriage, Mr. Whitman passed away on Aug. 15, 1999. Mrs. Whitman remained in San Antonio until April of 2006, when she moved into the Courtyard Estates of Monmouth.

Mrs. Whitman was a member of the First Christian Church of Canton, Ill., and after moving to Monmouth attended to the outreach services of the Monmouth First Christian Church.

Mrs. Whitman was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and one sister, Betty Simpkins, formerly of Tempe, Ariz.

She is survived by one sister, Mildred Garlish of Sun Lakes, Ariz.; her daughter, Marilyn Whitman of Winchester, Tenn.; her son, Richard L. Whitman Sr. and daughter-in-law, Patricia, of Monmouth; and two grandsons, Richard L. Whitman Jr. and Alexander C. Whitman, both of Monmouth.

Russell and Mae chose to be cremated. A memorial service with James Epperson presiding will be held at a later date in Canton at the White Chapel Memory Gardens. There will be no visitation.

Memorials may be left with the Turnbull Funeral Home, which is in charge of arrangements.