Ann H. Whiting

Mary Ann Hutchins Whiting passed away peacefully in Austin, Texas with family by her side on March 17, 2023. She was born February 13, 1930 in Utica, Mississippi to Paul Jones and Velma Owens Hutchins and raised in the Methodist Church. The youngest of four children, Ann grew up on the family farm in Utica with 13 cats and dogs as pets which seeded early in life her love for all creatures great and small. Ann’s kindness made her a class favorite and voted most friendly and High School Homecoming Queen. After graduating high school in 1948, she attended Hinds Junior College and Mississippi Southern College (now the University of Southern Mississippi) in Hattiesburg, earning a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education.

Ann married Winslow Whiting in Hattiesburg in 1951 and after his military service was completed, they made their home in Houston, Texas where she taught second grade at Bastian Elementary. As she started having children, she was able to stay home and raise them and run the household, both of which she excelled. She created a welcoming home that was always open and a popular spot to the neighborhood children. As her children got older, she returned to teaching for several years. When her marriage ended in 1984, she began to create a new normal, a trait of resilience that would re-emerge in later years with health challenges. She began to travel some and rediscover her artistic side. She set up an art studio in her home and that, along with the arrival of her grandchildren, gave great joy and meaning to her life. She shared her love and knowledge of gardening and birds and looked forward to her annual spring trips to Austin to see the bluebonnets. In her senior years she became very accomplished with utilizing modern technology as a means of staying in touch with her growing family via social media, which she did with skill until very near the end of her life. Ann moved to Austin in 2018 after 60+ years in Houston and enjoyed making a new home and friends at The Village at the Triangle Senior Living.

Ann, fondly known as “Gammy”, adored her grandchildren and traveled often to be with them in Austin and the East Coast. She never said no to a card game with her grands and enjoyed cooking for family and her molasses cookies are a family favorite and a staple of any visit to or by family. Fresh batches of those cookies have traveled far and wide and the tradition is carried on by the 5th and 6th generation of the recipe. She was the consummate mother and grandmother, a gentle lady who was always willing to do whatever her family needed, putting herself last; a true well-mannered southern lady full of grace.

In Ann’s later years, she suffered a number of physical setbacks from breast cancer, Lymphoma, broken hip, broken shoulder, and a paralyzing stroke. She surprised everyone with her resilience and ability to get back to a normal life each time, or the new normal she would create for herself. Ann was small in stature with a quiet, reserved personality that demonstrated an inner strength and fight to never quit. Always optimistic, she believed to the very end that she could get better. She was barely five feet tall and refused to give an inch on that even when she was told at the doctor’s office, she was four-foot eleven. She ignored that and told the next nurse she was five feet! She stood tall in the hearts of family and friends who knew and loved her.

Ann was predeceased by her parents and siblings Amanda Idom and Paul Hutchins, Jr, and her precious great-grandson, Moss Pieratt. She is survived by her sister, Ida Lee Barron; 3 children: Chuck Whiting (Jackie), Chip Whiting (Deb) and Jan Jenkins (Bobby), 6 grandchildren: Jessica Pieratt (J.), Chelsea Myers (Holt), Bo Jenkins (Molly), Becca, Sarah and Will Whiting and 5 great- grandchildren: Madeline and Frances Pieratt, Robby and Morrison Jenkins and Belle Myers who was born on her Great-Gammy’s 93rd birthday this year, and her nieces Cindy Pitts and Beth Walden.

The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff and care at The Belmont Village in Westlake and Westminster Skilled Nursing Rehab during the past 2 ½ years.

Memorial services will be held Monday, April 3, 2023 at 11:00 am at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd 3201 Windsor Road, Austin, Texas.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Moss Pieratt Foundation at: mosspierattfoundation.org