CHARLIE DAVID WHITEFIELD, 82, loving husband,
father, grandpa & great-grandpa, passed away March 14,
2004 in Abilene, TX.
Charlie was a retired pilot, pipeline contractor,
welder and inspector for various construction companies
in Texas, Nebraska and Ohio. He was a member of the
United Association Pipefitters Union, Local 798, for
45 years. Interment was at Lingleville West Cemetary.
Charlie Whitefield was born on March 9, 1922 in Ranger,
TX. He was the son of John F. & Freddie (Greer)
Whitefield. He graduated from Ranger High School in
1939 & attended Abilene Christian College on a football
scholarship. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force
from September 1941 to April 1942, & terminated service
to volunteer for the U.S. Army Air Force, July 8, 1942.
He trained at Garner Field, Goodfellow Field and Moore
Field, all in Texas, & began overseas duty June 3, 1944,
with the 8th Air Force, based at Duxford Air Force Base,
in Duxford, England. Charlie flew a P-47 Thunderbolt
aircraft, completing 66 missions in the air offensive
over Europe. He received the Air Medal with four Oak
Leaf Cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross, ETO Ribbon
with four Battle Stars and Presidential Unit Citation.
He married Jane Clemons Krantz, of Salamanca, NY,
Corporal in the Women’s Army Corp, in Dec. of 1944,
in Staines, England. He returned to the States and
was discharged in 1945.
Charlie, Jane & family of five, traveled for many years,
living mainly in Texas and Nebraska. Charlie had many
friends in Fremont, NE and enjoyed fishing at the State
Lakes. They retired to Eastland, TX in 1983 and moved
to Lake Leon, where he enjoyed fishing, golfing with
his buddies at the Lone Cedar Country Club, flying his
Cessna and Bonanza airplanes from the Ranger airport
and visiting with many of his childhood friends. Charlie
was an avid Internet surfer and maintained a lively
correspondence with his family and friends via e-mail.
He was especially proud of his digital photo collection
and forwarded many photos of grandchildren and Texas
sunsets to one and all.
A particular highlight in recent years was a trip in
September 1995 to the official opening of the American
Air Museum in Duxford, England. Charlie and Jane spent
a fabulous event packed week participating in the ground
breaking ceremonies, being interviewed by BBC radio,
viewing the Duxford Air Show, which included many WWII
aircraft, returning to the Grovsner Hotel, where they
spent their honeymoon, and telling many a story, to one
and all, of their time spent there from 1943 to 1945.
Charlie was preceded in death by his son, Joel Whitefield,
in 1983. Survivors at the time of his death include; wife,
Jane Whitefield; daughter and son-in-law, Kay and Craig
Story of Kingwood, TX; son and daughter-in-law, Dave and
Kathy Whitefield of Gardnerville, NV; son and daughter-in
-law, Paul and Saralee Whitefield of La Canada, CA; daughter
and son-in-law, Karol Ann and Grove Bock of Omaha, NE; ten
grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
WIFE: JANE CLEMONS KRANTZ WHITEFIELD was
born Oct. 30, 1919, in Salamanca, NY. She was the
daughter of Leon & Mabel Krantz.
After graduating from high school in Salamanca in 1937,
Jane worked at F.W. Woolworth's. As the oldest daughter
in a family of eight children, she also took on odd jobs,
such as cleaning and ironing, to help support her family.
On March 3, 1944, she enlisted in the Women's Army Corp.
She was sent to Daytona Beach, FL, for basic training
then was transferred to Goodfellow Field in San Angelo,
TX. There, she met a handsome young cadet by the name
of Charles D. Whitefield (RHS-1939). In Sept. of 1944,
she left the U.S. for duty in England as well as a
brief tour of duty in France. Charlie & Jane remained
in contact throughout WWII and eventually married in
Staines, England, in Dec. of 1944. Jane returned to
the States and was discharged from the Women's Army
Corp in Feb. of 1945. She became a loving wife, mother
of five children & homemaker extraordinaire.
Jane supported her husband and devoted her life to loving
and nurturing her children while Charlie's job demanded
that the family travel extensively throughout the Midwest
and Southern part of the U.S.
Jane still found time for some of her favorite hobbies
that included collecting quilts, shopping for antiques
and then refinishing some of the antique dressers and
chairs she would find. Family was always Jane's most
important priority, and she went out of her way to host
family dinners and holidays and was known to open her
home to anyone who wanted to stop by. After retiring to
Eastland, Texas, Jane spent nine years as the head of
the volunteer gift shop for Eastland Memorial Hospital.
Later in life, Jane was thrilled at the opportunity to
travel to Australia with her sister Marcia and treasured
the memories from their trip. In Sept. of 1995, Charlie
& Jane traveled to England to attend the official opening
of the American Air Museum in Duxford, England.
Jane was preceded in death by her husband Charles Whitefield
& her son Joel Whitefield. Survivors include daughter and
son-in-law Kay and Craig Story of Kingwood, TX; son and
daughter-in- law Dave and Kathy Whitefield of Gardnerville,
NV; son and daughter-in-law Paul and Saralee Whitefield
of La Canada, CA; and daughter and son-in-law Karol Ann
and Grove Bock of Omaha, NE; 10 grandchildren and seven
great-grandchildren.
SON: PAUL WHITEFIELD, a veteran editor at the Los
Angeles Times who helped guide coverage of many of the
paper's major stories over his 30-year career, died at
home on Aug. 14, 2019 after a five-year battle with
esophageal cancer.
He was 66. A longtime resident of La Canada Flintridge,
he is survived by his wife, Sara Lessley, a former Page 1
editor at The Times, and their two sons, Sam and Ben
Whitefield. As part of the paper's foreign staff,
Whitefield oversaw copy editing and page design of some
of the major stories of the day: most notably the fall
of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
"He was truly unflappable in dealing with breaking news
on tough deadlines," said former colleague Jon Thurber.
John Paul Whitefield was born July 13, 1953, in Ranger,
TX, to Jane & Charles Whitefield, a war hero who flew
74 missions over Germany during WWII. Their son graduated
from high school in Fremont, NE, & received a bachelor's
degree from the University of Nebraska in 1975. He then
obtained a master's degree in international relations from
the University of Hawaii and began work on a Ph.D there,
with the goal of eventually teaching. At the time of his
retirement in 2015, he oversaw copy editing and production
of the Times' op-ed pages and was a frequent contributor
of online humor pieces.
In addition to his wife and sons, he is survived by a
brother, Charles David Whitefield of Carson City, Nev.,
and sisters Kay Louise Story of San Antonio and Karol Ann
Michelsen of Canadian, TX. Another brother, Joe, died in
a car crash in 1983.