Herschel Lloyd Whiting

Herschel Lloyd Whiting WS7K ex-WA7IMC, an avid amateur radio operator and formerly of Bellevue, died April 13,2002. He was born on December 12, 1921 in El Centro, California to Walter Calvin and Mary Agnes Gleason Whiting. He was raised on farms in Southern California and near Eugene, Oregon, with five brothers and one sister. At the age of 17 he joined the Civilian Conservations Corps, and in 1940 at the age of 18 began studying airplane construction and maintenance at the Northrop company school. During the Second World War he enlisted in the U. S. Coast Guard, serving on ships guarding North Atlantic convoys and in the South Pacific. At the end of the war he was a third class Petty Officer in the Radarman rating. After the war he continued flying and working on airplanes, indeed flying his own from Southern California to Alaska where he lived for three years. In 1955 he settled in Bellevue, maintaining airliners for Pacific Northwest Airlines later Western Airlines and now part of Delta.

He married the former Janet Murdoch Gow, who predeceased him in 1992, and the couple had five children.

He was bitten by the amateur radio bug and soon antennas began sprouting from his car and his house with one large tower attracting faraway signals as well as lightning bolts. He constructed remotely controlled radio repeaters for mountaintops which pioneered technologies we use today to talk on our cell phones. He was a member of the Puget Sound Amateur Radio Society and donated many hours and parts rebuilding a trailer for their use as a radio station and classroom. He provided backup emergency communications for 911 as a member of the Eastside Amateur Radio Support Team.

Herschel was a true handyman, able to fix or build almost anything,including his own cars, airplane, boat, and radio towers. He was the first to complain about being unable to work on computerized cars. He was extremely talented in the workshop, able to make anything he set his mind to. Projects included a cabin cruiser, in which he cruised several times to Bainbridge Island; an airplane; and a telescope for a son who is now a professional astronomer. He spent many hours puttering around the yard and planting gardens and trees and when he retired in 1985, he planted his entire backyard with farm crops he loved from his youth.

Not at all a storyteller, the few incidents in his childhood and his military career known to his children were learned in unguarded moments or from his siblings. He had a very strict code of right and wrong which he followed stubbornly and without hesitation. He strongly opposed any sense of entitlement, but was overwhelmingly generous when he thought the cause worthwhile. The love and support which poured out from all his family and friends during his last illness are a testament to how badly he will be missed.

Herschel was preceeded in death by his wife, parents and two brothers,Warren and Ray. He is survived by his brothers Bernard, Gordon, Evan, his sister Martha, daughters, Marion and Jack Dowell, Ann MacGowan, and Susan and Bill Kemp, his sons Alan and Stuart KB7UUX, 4 grandchildren, Laurie,Connie,Alissa, and Daniel, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home, 11111 Aurora Avenue N, Seattle Wa, at 12:00 Noon Saturday April 20. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association. In Memory of Herschel Whiting PO Box 2680 North Canton, Ohio 44720. # 800-342-2383. Please sign the online guest book at evergreen-washelli.com