Obituary for Giles Arthur Whitson Sr. Giles Arthur Whitson Sr., 93, of Gorham, passed away at 8:55 p.m. on Thursday, May 10, 2018, in Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. Giles was born on March 16, 1925, in Valmeyer, IL, a son to the late Giles H. and Bessie (Bardmass) Whitson. He grew up in Gorham.
He was united in marriage to Ruby J. Hill on December 25, 1947, until 1968; Ruby preceded him in death in 2015. Giles was a U.S. Navy veteran serving aboard the USS Hyades during WWII; he also served during the Korean conflict. He was of the Pentecostal faith and was a member of Shekinah Masonic Lodge #241 in Carbondale, V.F.W. Post 7190 and had also been a member of the American Legion Paul Stout Post 127, both of Murphysboro.
Giles was a graduate of Valmeyer High School and attended Allan Hancock Community College in Santa Maria, CA. Giles loved baseball, gardening, fishing, and visits with family and friends. He past employers include McDonald Douglas/ Northrop in their aircraft and missile programs, and Chrysler/ NASA as a missile engine mechanic and troubleshooter during the early Gemini and Apollo space programs.
He played 2nd base in AAA and American Legion baseball and coached the Douglas Aircraft baseball team in Huntsville, AL, and in Los Angeles, CA. Later on he worked as maintenance and ranch hand on his cousins Sim and Ruby Whitson’s ranch in Stigler, OK, and Roy and Eva Whitson’s farm in Grove, OK. , In his retirement years he worked for GOD and his family’s needs.
His name is honored on the NASA wall plaque in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. He represented WWII veterans in the 2016 Murphysboro Apple Festival parade, and most recently traveled on the Marion Freedom Flight to Washington, D.C. in April 2018. Funeral Services will be at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, at Crawshaw Funeral Home in Murphysboro.
Rev. Troy Humphrey will officiate. Burial will follow at Goodbread Cemetery near Gorham, IL, with Military Rites by the American Legion Post 127.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, at Crawshaw Funeral Home; with Masonic services at 7 p.m. Memorials are the preferred form of remembrance and may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Shriners Hospitals for Children. Survivors include three daughters, Sharon K. Whitson of Killeen, TX. , Anna M. Maultsby and Linda M. StRomain, both of Clarksville, TN; three sons and daughters-in-law, Giles A. (Marjorie) Whitson of Rockford, IL, Harold L. (Sheryl) Whitson of Devils Lake, ND, and Zane I. (Teri) Whitson of Port Orchard, WA; one sister, Eva Mae Clark of Carbondale; 16 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; one niece and two nephews.
In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by one sister, Carrie L. Whitson, and one niece, Susan Mitchell. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Giles Arthur Whitson Sr. please visit our Sympathy Store. Cemetery Details Goodbread Cemetery 101 Happy Hollow Rd, Grand Tower, IL 62942-2110 Grand Tower | IL 62942-2110 Grand Tower, IL, 62942 , Previous Events Visitation , MAY 15.
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM Crawshaw Funeral Home 1421 Walnut St Murphysboro, IL, US, 62966 www. crawshawfuneralhome.com/ Service , MAY 16. 10:30 AM Crawshaw Funeral Home 1421 Walnut St Murphysboro, IL, US, 62966 www.
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