Edward Gilbert Whitaker

Son of Clyde and Ada Whitaker, Ed was born during the Depression years in the little town of Middlesboro, Kentucky at the mouth of the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountains.

Seeking a better life in those hard times, Clyde moved Ada, Ed and his little sister, Betty Jane out of Kentucky and embarked on the long trek to Jacksonville, Florida in search of a job to support his young family.

The Whitakers wound up settling in a modest apartment off Hendricks Avenue where Ed, at age 12, first met his lifelong friend, George Ashby, who, with great appreciation from the family, visited Ed several times a week in his last months.

Ed came up through the public-school ranks and on to Landon High School where he met many lifelong friends. A well-rounded student, Ed was class president his senior year and played football, basketball and baseball on the varsity squads. Ed’s passion was football and he excelled on the gridiron, garnering All-Southern honors, and earning a full scholarship to the University of Georgia.

After an ankle injury cut short his Bulldog career, Ed returned home, healed up, and tried once more to play football. He traveled to Gainesville and walked on in the spring of 1948, making the squad as a starting linebacker for his beloved University of Florida Gators. However, Ed was booted from the team when his coaches found out that he was still technically on scholarship with the Bulldogs and his participation in spring training could land the Gators in hot water!

Ed returned to Jacksonville and shortly thereafter, in July of 1949, he married his high school sweetheart, Joyce Price, who would be his soulmate for the next 73 years.

The newlyweds settled in Jacksonville and, in 1952, Joyce gave birth to their first child, Gil, followed in 1954 by their daughter, Susan and son, Dale in 1958. Gil, Susan, and Dale, true to the clannish nature of their Kentucky roots, all remained in Jacksonville, and they blessed Ed and Joyce with eight grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren, all of whom live a short drive from their grandparents’ home. They fondly referred to him as “Big Daddy.”

Professionally, Ed began a sales career in the steel industry, moving his young family from Jacksonville, to Birmingham, Raleigh, Tampa and Orlando as he rose through the ranks of the metals sales business. Ultimately, a chance meeting with his future mentor, Jack Blackwell, gained Ed a position with O’Neal Steel and brought him home to Jacksonville where, in short order, he became the youngest (age 33) regional manager in the history of O’Neal Steel and ultimately a regional vice president.

In the late 60’s, with kids in school, and surrounded by his parents, in laws, sister and other extended family, Ed was offered a major promotion at O’Neal with the caveat that he must relocate to the home office in Birmingham, Alabama. Once again, those deeply embedded family roots prompted Ed turn down the promotion. Jacksonville was his home and he and his entire family would grow and thrive within a stone’s throw of one another.

As a longtime member of Lakewood United Methodist Church, Ed served on various committees and attended church services on a regular basis. He particularly enjoyed the Open Forum Sunday School gathering each week.

Ed was a kind and loving man with a special place in his heart for all animals and, through the years, he brought home a succession of scraggly mutts and sorry cats. Lucky was the animal that graced Big Daddy’s lap.

Honest, direct, witty, clever and with a very dry and subtle sense of humor, Ed had no known enemies but many lifelong friends. He is survived by his wife, Joyce, his sister Betty Murray (Pat) and her family, son, Gil (Brenda), daughter, Susan Oliver (Steve), son, Dale (Christy), Granddaughters, Erin Watson (Barry), Megan Hulling (Nick), Ashlan and Alyssa Whitaker, grandsons, Jeff Whitaker (Erin), Whit Riley (Nikki), Alan and Alex Whitaker,and great grandchildren Price and Drew Watson, Wyatt and Ruby Hulling, Isabelle, Curran and Hughes Whitaker, and Claire and Marin Riley.

A memorial service will be held at 11:30 A.M. on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, at Lakewood United Methodist Church 6133 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville Florida 32217. The congregation is invited to a reception at the church immediately thereafter.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations in Ed’s name be sent to either Haven Hospice of North Florida or the Jacksonville Humane Society.

Memories and condolences may be expressed to the family at Ed’s Book of Memories page at: https://.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/jacksonville-fl/edward-whitaker- 10783568