Clyde Whitaker

Tupelo--Clyde Edward Whitaker, 74, died Monday, June 28, 2010, at Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo, Mississippi. He was born November 4, 1935, in Sardis, Mississippi, to Darel Wesley and Reba Whitaker. He grew up in Batesville, Mississippi, and graduated from Batesville High School. He was a graduate of Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia, where he served as student body president. He attended Millsaps College from 1955 to 1957. In 1958 he served in the U.S. Army. He returned to Batesville where he worked with his brother Punk in Whitaker Electric Motor Co. After relocating to Tupelo in 1964, he worked for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company and later worked in real estate sales. In 1973, Clyde was elected mayor of Tupelo, becoming the first Republican elected official in Lee County. He served as mayor of Tupelo from 1973 to 1981. While mayor, Clyde served as president of the Mississippi Municipal Association and was active in the Republican Party at both the state and the national levels. In 1981, he formed Whitaker Realty and worked as a commercial real estate broker.
Clyde worked to improve his community through his business and through membership in a number of community organizations including the Tupelo Luncheon Civitan Club and the Community Development Foundation. He was a long-time member of St. Luke Methodist Church and was a member of Tupelos Major Thoroughfare Committee. He served on the building committee and board of directors of Sanctuary Hospice House. He was a generous and loyal friend to many and was grateful for their expressions of support and affection during his illness. He faced death as he lived, with grace, dignity and unfailing good humor.

Services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Luke Methodist Church in Tupelo with the Reverend Rick Brooks officiating. Burial will be at Tupelo Memorial Park. W.E. Pegues Funeral Directors is in charge of the arrangements.

Survivors include his daughter, Beth Whitaker, of Madison, Wisconsin; his son, Darrell Whitaker (Paula) of Oxford, Mississippi; his stepdaughter, Amanda Lancaster, of Tupelo; four sisters, Mary Alice Broome (Wayne), Jo Whitaker, Alta Irving (Zach), and Barbara Smith (W.I.); one brother, Mirl Whitaker (Alene); and four grandchildren, Joseph Whitaker, Jack Whitaker, Martha Whitaker, and Austin Lancaster. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Dimple Whitaker, his parents, his brothers, Vernon Punk Whitaker and James Whitaker.

Pallbearers will be Leon Whitaker, Paul Broome, Bill Ratliffe, Tracy Mask, Darrell Smith, Ted Gordon, Jerry Bristow, Rick Maynard and Greg Pirkle.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home and from 10 a.m. until service time Wednesday at the church.

The family would like to express its sincere gratitude to the staff of The Sanctuary Hospice House both at Hospice House and in the home hospice program for their skilled and compassionate care.

Memorials may be made to The Sanctuary Hospice House, PO Box 2177, Tupelo, Mississippi, 38803; Camp Lake Stephens, 117 Camp Lake Stephens Drive, Oxford Mississippi 38655; The Nature Conservancy, Attn: Treasurer, 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, Virginia 22203 or at www.nature.org ; or a charity of your choice.