John Whitaker, age 93, died peacefully Wednesday, 4th of May 2022 at Hearthside Senior Living in Collierville, TN attended by his daughter, Annette Cain and son, Mark. John was born August 20, 1928, in Amory, Mississippi, the son of Christmas Earl "Nick" Whitaker and Bernie Pickle Whitaker. He graduated from Mississippi State University in 1950 and then attended art schools in Nashville and New York.
In 1951, he married Rose Rowan (they were Amory classmates from the first through the twelfth grades). They then moved to Memphis to start a family. John went to work for Delta Air Lines then joined the Air Force and was stationed in Japan during the Korean War. Later, John was the artist for a nationally syndicated cartoon, “Sam’s Supermarket”. Later, John became Membership Chairman for the Memphis Chamber of Commerce then finally had a long career with the Equitable Life Insurance Company.
He and Rose enjoyed church membership at Graceland Baptist Church in Whitehaven, Broadmoor Baptist Church in Raleigh and at First Evangelical Church in Memphis. John, or ‘John Earl’, as Rose called him, was a funny, handsome, athletic, God loving (and fearing) conservative, patriotic man who loved family, history, photography, football, golf, and fishing. He lived a full life. Rose passed away in December of 2020 after 69 years of marriage.
John and Rose are survived by their daughter, Annette Cain (Bill); grandson, Dr. Christian Cain (Laura); grandson, Austin Cain (girlfriend Miranda); son, Mark Whitaker (Phyllis); grandson, Nick Whitaker (Grace), great-granddaughter, Kelly; great-grandson, Lewis; grandson, Eric Whitaker (Lindsay); and great-grandsons, John Clayton, Noah and Jacob. Other surviving relatives include JoAnn Whitaker, Bruce Whitaker, Sissy Edwards, and Norris Thomas.
The family will receive friends on Saturday, May 7 from 1:00 PM until the funeral service at 2:00 PM, at Memphis Funeral Home, 5599 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38119. Graveside committal service will military honors will immediately follow in Memorial Park Cemetery. Memorials may be sent to St. Jude or a charity of your choice.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at MemphisFuneralPoplar.com for the Whitaker family.
