Frank C. Whitney

November 18, 1932 - April 6, 2005

Frank C. Whitney, 72, died Wednesday, April 6, 2005, at Ft. Meade VA Medical Center, Sturgis, SD. He was born November 18, 1932, in Middleborough, MA, to Charles and Myrtle (Elliott) Whitney. He joined the United States Navy in 1955 and became a fighter pilot flying off of aircraft carriers. Frank served 5 years active duty then joined the Naval Reserve for 15 years. Frank proposed to Shirley Stivers in Boston Gardens during halftime of a Boston Celtics game. They were married November 21, 1962, in Middleborough, MA. He attended Brown University in Providence, RI, receiving a BS in Aeronautical Engineering and received an MBA from Northeastern University in Boston. After coming off active duty, Frank worked as an Electrical Engineer for various electrical power agencies in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, and Nebraska before becoming the Director of Engineering for Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Rochester, MN, in 1983. He retired in 1997 and moved to Black Hawk, SD. Singing was a large part of Frank's life, first joining the Society for the Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America in Columbus, NE. He later joined the chapter in Rochester, Minnesota, and after moving to Black Hawk became active in the Shrine of Democracy Chorus in Rapid City, SD. Frank was a member of Grace United Methodist Church and the Piedmont American Legion Post 311. Among his survivors are his wife, Shirley Whitney, Black Hawk, SD; a son, Barry C. Whitney and his wife Teresa, Rapid City, SD; two daughters, Lisa Smith and her husband Eric, Decatur, AR; and Ruth Ramanauskas and her husband Eric, Woodbridge, VA; two brothers, Elliott Whitney and his wife Barbara, Tiverton, RI; and C. Mansfield Whitney and his wife Jackie, Barefoot Bay, FL, formerly of Lakeville, MA; and 8 grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Myrtle Whitney, and a sister, Edna Whitney.