1912
Henry
2006
Henry Whitfield
October 22, 1912 — June 13, 2006
HENRY WHITFIELD
Tupelo - Henry Massey Whitfield, 93, died Tuesday, June 13, 2006, at North Mississippi Medical Center after a short illness. A Florence, Miss. native, he was born October 22, 1912 to the late Dr. Richard Noble and Annie Belle South Whitfield. A 1930 graduate of Florence High School, he then went on to Mississippi State University where he graduated in 1934. He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church of Tupelo where he had served as chairman of the board of deacons and chairman of the finance committee, and where he taught Sunday School faithfully until only a few months before his death. He was also a past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Blue Mountain College.
Whitfield was a Licensed Professional Engineer and construction contractor who spent the majority of his career as C.E.O. of Hays Co. Construction, which he co-founded. For many years, he also owned a cattle and tree farm in Clay County, where he often spent weekends assisting in day-to-day operations.
His interests and activities were extensive, and pursued with a vigor undiminished by age. He earned a private pilots license and flew his own plane for years. He was a Master Mason and 32nd Scottish Rite. In retirement, Whitfield traveled, played golf, hunted and fished, and became an avid gardener, supplying loved ones and neighbors with bushels of homegrown vegetables. Following heart surgery in 1994, he began to exercise regularly at the Wellness Center, where he made many new friends of all ages.
Most of all, Whitfield will be remembered as a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He loved spending time with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. For his family, he was an example of extraordinary integrity, vitality, and willpower, as well as a font of idiosyncratic wit and wisdom. He will undoubtedly also be missed by countless friends and acquaintances whose lives he touched with his remarkable personality and generous nature.
Services will be 10 a.m. Friday at Calvary Baptist Church in Tupelo with Dr. Bryant Barnes and Rev. Morgan Whitfield officiating. Graveside services will be 4 p.m. Friday in Florence Cemetery, Florence, Miss. W. E. Pegues Funeral Directors is in charge of the arrangements.
Survivors include his wife of 8 years, Sue Kenney Whitfield of Tupelo; one daughter, Alma Lee Griffin and husband, Archie, of Valdosta, Ga.; two sons, Henry Lewis Whitfield and wife, Mel, of Tupelo, Morgan Whitfield and wife, Ann, of Tupelo; three step-children, Jimmy Kenney and wife, Angie, Linda Kenney, and Melissa Kenney, all of Pontotoc; eight grandchildren, Dr. Scott Griffin and wife, Janice of Montgomery, Ala., Lee Anne Landrum and husband, John, of Cumming, Ga., Henry Whitfield, III, of Oakland, Calif., Lt. Cmdr. Palmer Whitfield and wife, Roxanne, of Corpus Christi, Tex., John South Whitfield of Tupelo, Mary Morgan Whitfield of Memphis, Tenn., Rev. Morgan Whitfield, Jr. and wife, Gwen, of Donalsonville, Ga., and John Whitfield, of Huntsville, Ala.; five step-grandchildren, Ashley Butler and wife, Christie, Ken Butler and wife, Buffie, Kris Butler and wife, Rebecca, Jake Kenney and wife, Donna, Katherine Kenney, all of Pontotoc; ten great-grandchildren, Rebecca Anne Griffin, Jessica Morgan Griffin, Griffin Walter Landrum, John Harrison Landrum, Katharine Scott Landrum, Archibald Kennedy Landrum, Josh Rider, Ashley Whitfield, Richard Morgan Whitfield, III, and Brendan Stanton Whitfield; 9 step-great-grandchildren; three sisters, Carolyn Henry and husband, Jim, of Florence, Mary Ann Goodson and husband, Charles, of Birmingham, Ala., and Amelia Gunnel of Vassar, Mich.; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife of 63 years, Valeria Morgan Whitfield; two sisters, Emily Phelps and Sara Katherine Whitfield; five brothers, Dr. John South Whitfield, Richard Noble Whitfield, Jr., Col. Fitzhugh Ails Whitfield, Dr. Edmond Lewis Whitfield, and George Whitfield.
Pallbearers will be his grandsons. Honorary pallbearers will be the Senior Adult A Sunday School Department of Calvary Baptist Church.
Visitation will be 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home on Jefferson Street.
Memorials may be made to Calvary Baptist Church Building Fund, Mississippi State University Development Foundation, or Blue Mountain College.
Tupelo - Henry Massey Whitfield, 93, died Tuesday, June 13, 2006, at North Mississippi Medical Center after a short illness. A Florence, Miss. native, he was born October 22, 1912 to the late Dr. Richard Noble and Annie Belle South Whitfield. A 1930 graduate of Florence High School, he then went on to Mississippi State University where he graduated in 1934. He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church of Tupelo where he had served as chairman of the board of deacons and chairman of the finance committee, and where he taught Sunday School faithfully until only a few months before his death. He was also a past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Blue Mountain College.
Whitfield was a Licensed Professional Engineer and construction contractor who spent the majority of his career as C.E.O. of Hays Co. Construction, which he co-founded. For many years, he also owned a cattle and tree farm in Clay County, where he often spent weekends assisting in day-to-day operations.
His interests and activities were extensive, and pursued with a vigor undiminished by age. He earned a private pilots license and flew his own plane for years. He was a Master Mason and 32nd Scottish Rite. In retirement, Whitfield traveled, played golf, hunted and fished, and became an avid gardener, supplying loved ones and neighbors with bushels of homegrown vegetables. Following heart surgery in 1994, he began to exercise regularly at the Wellness Center, where he made many new friends of all ages.
Most of all, Whitfield will be remembered as a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He loved spending time with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. For his family, he was an example of extraordinary integrity, vitality, and willpower, as well as a font of idiosyncratic wit and wisdom. He will undoubtedly also be missed by countless friends and acquaintances whose lives he touched with his remarkable personality and generous nature.
Services will be 10 a.m. Friday at Calvary Baptist Church in Tupelo with Dr. Bryant Barnes and Rev. Morgan Whitfield officiating. Graveside services will be 4 p.m. Friday in Florence Cemetery, Florence, Miss. W. E. Pegues Funeral Directors is in charge of the arrangements.
Survivors include his wife of 8 years, Sue Kenney Whitfield of Tupelo; one daughter, Alma Lee Griffin and husband, Archie, of Valdosta, Ga.; two sons, Henry Lewis Whitfield and wife, Mel, of Tupelo, Morgan Whitfield and wife, Ann, of Tupelo; three step-children, Jimmy Kenney and wife, Angie, Linda Kenney, and Melissa Kenney, all of Pontotoc; eight grandchildren, Dr. Scott Griffin and wife, Janice of Montgomery, Ala., Lee Anne Landrum and husband, John, of Cumming, Ga., Henry Whitfield, III, of Oakland, Calif., Lt. Cmdr. Palmer Whitfield and wife, Roxanne, of Corpus Christi, Tex., John South Whitfield of Tupelo, Mary Morgan Whitfield of Memphis, Tenn., Rev. Morgan Whitfield, Jr. and wife, Gwen, of Donalsonville, Ga., and John Whitfield, of Huntsville, Ala.; five step-grandchildren, Ashley Butler and wife, Christie, Ken Butler and wife, Buffie, Kris Butler and wife, Rebecca, Jake Kenney and wife, Donna, Katherine Kenney, all of Pontotoc; ten great-grandchildren, Rebecca Anne Griffin, Jessica Morgan Griffin, Griffin Walter Landrum, John Harrison Landrum, Katharine Scott Landrum, Archibald Kennedy Landrum, Josh Rider, Ashley Whitfield, Richard Morgan Whitfield, III, and Brendan Stanton Whitfield; 9 step-great-grandchildren; three sisters, Carolyn Henry and husband, Jim, of Florence, Mary Ann Goodson and husband, Charles, of Birmingham, Ala., and Amelia Gunnel of Vassar, Mich.; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife of 63 years, Valeria Morgan Whitfield; two sisters, Emily Phelps and Sara Katherine Whitfield; five brothers, Dr. John South Whitfield, Richard Noble Whitfield, Jr., Col. Fitzhugh Ails Whitfield, Dr. Edmond Lewis Whitfield, and George Whitfield.
Pallbearers will be his grandsons. Honorary pallbearers will be the Senior Adult A Sunday School Department of Calvary Baptist Church.
Visitation will be 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home on Jefferson Street.
Memorials may be made to Calvary Baptist Church Building Fund, Mississippi State University Development Foundation, or Blue Mountain College.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Henry Whitfield, please visit our flower store.
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