Harold Dean Whitten, 74, died on Thursday, April 27, after valiantly battling cancer for seven years.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. at Cross Church in Richland, TX. Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.
Mr. Whitten was born on Nov. 14, 1948, to Harold and Mary Whitten, the oldest of six children. The Whitten family eventually moved from the farm in Coffeen to Hillsboro where he grew up and attended Hillsboro High School. After graduation, Mr. Whitten enrolled at Southern Illinois University until 1967 when he enlisted in the US Air Force.
After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX, Mr. Whitten was stationed briefly in San Angelo, but soon transferred back to San Antonio. It was there, at Lackland Baptist Church that he met the love of his life, Linda Cox and the two were married in July 1969. In the spring of 1970, he was transferred to Southeast Asia, where he did tours in Thailand and Vietnam.
Upon his discharge from the Air Force, he moved to Abilene to join his wife in attending Hardin-Simmons University Mr. Whitten received his BBA in 1975. After graduation, the family moved to Litchfield, where Mr. Whitten went to work for Litchfield National Bank and in 1976, their second son Jeremy was born.
The family then moved to Fort Worth, TX, so that Mr. Whitten could attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he studied music. Their third child, Jessica was born there, but passed away soon after her premature birth.
Mr. Whitten returned to his accounting roots where he worked as an accountant, business manager and CFO. He eventually moved into the area of real estate development with projects in multiple states. Mr. Whitten was a faithful servant to the Lord, always serving in his church as a Sunday school teacher, member of the choir, deacon, business administrator, numerous roles in productions and pageants. One of his favorite roles was being Paw Paw to his six incredible grandchildren. When he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma cancer in 2016, he chose to retire in order to concentrate on his health.
Mr. Whitten is survived by his wife; children, Jason (Janice) Whitten of Katy, TX and Jeremy (Michele) of Hurst, TX; grandchildren, Anna, Troy, Cooper, Jack, Tyler and Sophia; siblings, Doris (Roger) McFarlin of Hillsboro, Mary Lou Whitten of Hillsboro, Mike (Cheryl) Whitten of Hillsboro, Gayle (Roy) Harrell of Hillsboro and Paula Luebbert of Hillsboro; four nieces; three nephews; five great-nieces and four great-nephews.
In addition to his parents and baby daughter, he was preceded in death by a nephew, Neil Pachesa.
Memorials may be made to Calvary Baptist Church of Hillsboro, Modern Day Missions. Condolences may be left online at www.dignitymemorial.com.
