IN MEMORIAM: Ernest E. Whitney, 80;
Taught At SUNY, In Franklin, Florida
FRANKLIN – Ernest Eugene Whitney, 80, who taught at Franklin Central and SUNY Oneonta’s Migrant Tutorial Program before finishing his career in Florida, passed away peacefully Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, at O’Connor Hospital in Delhi.
He was born in Bennington, Vt., to Ralph and Dorothy (Andrews) Whitney in 1937, and attended a two-room schoolhouse in North Charlestown, N.H., through sixth grade before his family moved in 1949, to Franklin. After graduating from Franklin Central in 1955, he earned a bachelor’s from the University of Georgia and a master’s from Columbia.
He spent eight years in the Navy, stationed on Wake Island, Midway Island and Hawaii as an aviation electronics technician. He was a member of the Franklin American Legion Post 1689. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and National Defense Service Medal.
Ernest dedicated his life to teaching. After teaching at Franklin Central and SUNY, he retired from teaching in the Palm Beach County School District in Florida.
Ernest was a passionate man who loved carpentry and was always repairing or building projects. He spent many summers renovating his Franklin home, preserving its historical integrity. In his free time, he also gardened, read, was a beekeeper and cooked.
In retirement he pursued his interest in family genealogy, having at least one article published in the Ancestry Quarterly Bulletin of the Palm Beach County Genealogical Society: The Rev. John Lothropp of Etton, England, and Barnstable, New England. He always said the hardest part of genealogy was staying focused on a family line and not getting distracted by the many stories and people he discovered during his research.
Ernest had a strong religious faith and was an ordained deacon. He attended the Episcopal Church in Franklin, Bainbridge and North Palm Beach, Florida.
He recently moved home to Franklin to be near his extended family after living in North Palm Beach, Fla., for many years.
Ernest is survived by his son, Ernest Eugene (Gene) Whitney Jr.; grandsons, Jason Whitney, Brent (Jessica) Whitney; great-granddaughter, Olivia Dianna Whitney; sisters, Carolyn (Wayne) Whitney Worden, Joanne (Bill) Whitney Westcott-Bucherri, Louise (Don) Whitney Hebbard; daughter-in-law, Terri Whitney; many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his much-loved wife, Susan Mount Nelson Whitney.
A special thank you goes to the nurses and doctors at O’Connor Hospital in Delhi and the Delhi Rehabilitation and Nursing Center for their loving care and support.
A private service will be held in the future at the family’s convenience.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Franklin Free Library, Franklin American Legion 1689, or St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Franklin for its restoration fund.
Online condolences may be made by visiting www.bennettfh.com. Arrangements are by the Kenneth L. Bennett Funeral Home, Franklin.
Published on January 28, 2018
