Winifred "Winnie" Wilhite

Services for Winifred “Winnie” Wilhite, 96, of Chariton will be held on Thursday, July 22, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Chariton. Family will receive friends one hour prior to the service, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church.

You may join the family by watching the livestream at the following link:
https://my.gather.app/remember/winnie-wilhite

Winifred “Winnie” Wilhite was born on August 6, 1924, in Chariton, Iowa to Fielding and Mary (Daley) Wilhite. She grew up in Chariton, graduating from Chariton High School in 1942.

Winnie worked at Woolworth Dime Store, Quality Bakery, and Montgomery Wards before going to Kansas City with Lois Jean McKinley. She and Lois worked at North American Aviation until WWII was over, and they returned home. They both traveled to Bolivar, MO and attended Southwest Baptist College for two years, graduating in 1947. Winnie then started working for Iowa Southern Utilities (now Alliant Energy) in Chariton.

In 1949, Winnie moved to Tucson, AZ where she worked for Arizona Bank and Trust until 1951. She then went back to working at Iowa Southern Utilities. In 1954, ISU transferred her to the Centerville General Office to work in the newly formed computer section where they began to transfer all customer accounts to computer for billing and collecting purposes. This process took over two years.

Winnie lived 23 years in Centerville. In 1977, she was transferred to Washington, Iowa and lived there until 1989. She retired from ISU at the age of 65, after 40 years of service.

In August 1989, Winnie moved back to Chariton. She was very active in the community and was so generous in all her volunteer work. Among the places Winnie was an avid volunteer at were Lucas County Health Center, Chariton Library, Senior Center, Pin Oak, and Chariton Specialty Care. She was very active at the First Baptist Church, and was the pianist for a number of years.

Winnie was also an avid photographer. She enjoyed nature, especially the Redbuds that bloomed at Red Haw. She also was a great hostess when Ragbrai would come through. She just loved to be active. Winnie’s social skills and kindness made her a great joy to be around. You could count on Winnie’s generosity and friendship.

Not only was Winnie extremely active, but she was also very organized and meticulous from her bookkeeping to her appearance. She took great pride in everything she did.

Winnie was so proud of all her family. Her 15 nieces and nephews gave her great joy. She was very close to her mother and respected and valued her ideas and values.

Winnie will be missed by many including her sister, Faye Foust; nieces and nephews: Joan (Mike) Brooks, Steve (Vicki) Gray, Nancy (Lynn) Johnson, Jim Harding, Nick Wilhite, Cindy (Bob) Koch, Mary Lou (Jeff) McDowell, Mark (Diane) Foust, Barry (Carol) Foust, Kris (Cliff) Wolf, Vickie Randall (Hank Stromenger), Gloria (Monte) Lantz, Sue Demichelis, Mike Randall, and Tony Randall; and a host of great nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her siblings: Marguerite Davis, Louis Wilhite, Alleta Gray, Hazel Stierwalt, Maxine Randall, Norman Wilhite, and Bernice Wilhite; nieces and nephews: Louis Gray, Timothy Foust, and Alice Faye Wilhite; and her special friend, Reno Pester.

A special thanks to Alyse Hunter for being such a good friend and Homestead of Chariton for their care and kindness the past few years.