George Whitham's Obituary
George Whitham passed away in his home on August 24, 2019 of natural causes. George was born in Niagara Falls, New York on October 17, 1953 to his loving parents Frank and Alice Whitham.
Drawn by the mild winters and encouraged by his family members, George decided to move to Florida in the 1970s, first living in Pinellas County and eventually moving to Lakeland with his family in 1996. He was a parishioner of St. Joseph ́s Roman Catholic Church in Lakeland for many years.
George graduated from Niagara Falls high school and later attended St. Petersburg College. He worked the majority of his career as a technician in fertilizer processing plants. George spent many years at U.S. Agrichemicals in Ft. Meade and most recently worked at the Mosaic New Wales Plant before retiring earlier this year.
George will always be remembered for his love of telling jokes and retelling an old story. If he wasn’t listening to talk radio, he could be found in his truck singing along to one of his favorites from the Beatles or Chicago. There was nothing he delighted in more than the culinary pleasure of an Italian style sub sandwich or some authentic Buffalo style wings, with blue cheese of course. He was a Buffalo Bills fan for life, enjoyed following the UCF Knights with his daughter, and loved Rays Baseball. Over the past few years, George had the great joy of taking vacations to visit his daughter Samantha in Spain. In his free time, he could often be found at Ybor Cigars and Spirits participating in trivia with his friends.
George was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Alice Whitham, his older brother Raymond Whitham, and his nephew Nicholas Rossi. He is survived by his daughter Samantha Whitham, his younger brother Timothy Whitham (Amy), his younger sister Mary Koskosky Whitham (Mike), and his sister in law Francis Whitham. He is also survived by his nieces and nephews: Christopher, Theresa (Dustin), Anthony, Ashley (Frankie), and Robert, as well as five great nieces and nephews: Alice, Piper, Jonah, Embry, and James. Funeral services will be held at St. Joseph´s Catholic Church in Lakeland Florida on September 14, 2019 at 10:30AM.
What’s your fondest memory of George?
What’s a lesson you learned from George?
Share a story where George's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with George you’ll never forget.
How did George make you smile?